Take Kubo was ready, as much as he usually is on the pitch, when after signing his contract extension with Real Sociedad until 2026, with the clause of 60 million euros that he already had in his previous commitment, he stated that, “I hope This is not the news of the week.” He was referring, of course, to good news, and also, without saying it, to the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 that his team plays on Wednesday at the Parc des Princes in Paris, against Kylian Mbappé’s PSG. , in a different situation than what existed on the day of the draw. Since then, the French team has won eight of its nine games, while Real has only won four of eleven.
The San Sebastian team, which is suffering in the League due to the effort of facing three competitions, also involved in the Cup semi-finals, passes the screen and faces the European challenge with optimism, despite Saturday’s setback in Anoeta against Osasuna (0- 1). Imanol Alguacil, who chose to field a team without some of his heavyweights, after having played four days earlier against Mallorca, and with the Parisian perspective ahead, will possibly have to continue resigning himself to the absence of Mikel Oyarzabal in the team for Wednesday.
The Eibar striker is still not training, with knee discomfort, after having to leave the field in the last minutes of the match against Girona in Montilivi. His is, possibly, the most sensitive loss that Real Sociedad can have, which is beginning to suffer from a lack of goals. The captain was being the most incisive player on the team, and without him, the txuriurdin squad, which always easily reaches the vicinity of the rival area, gets stuck.
Against Osasuna, Real recorded three shots on goal, compared to two by the rival, who scored a goal, and the opposing goalkeeper only had to intervene in one dangerous action, to deflect Kubo’s shot in the first half. Precisely, the technical managers of his team trust in the Japanese’s set-up, since André Silva has not yet found the way and neither has Sadiq. Before going to the Asian Cup, Kubo had scored five goals in the first seven League games, but then he went without scoring from September 30 to December 9, the date on which he scored his last goal.
The scoring burden has had consequences in the league standings, after Real has added only seven of the last 21 points at stake. Right now it is seventh, out of the European places –because a place in the Europa League is currently reserved for the Cup–, and Betis has surpassed it.
But Real is not a club that worries about a bad streak. Jokin Aperribay, his president, commented on it in her appearance after Kubo’s renewal. “It is not a problem of reacting and I am very calm,” he noted. “It’s going to be a month full of experiences. The team is very excited. We are playing better than the team in front of us and we haven’t scored. “That can only be overcome with work.”
For Aperribay, “being in three competitions at this point is not easy. It’s always easier when you focus your efforts on a single front. We were looking for this and we are going to Paris with great enthusiasm, but also to the next league match against Mallorca and to the Cup.” What’s more, “we all like to win, but I am a big defender of day-to-day life and not putting more pressure on it. “If we are in a February that Real has never had before, for wanting to be in the Champions League quarterfinals, for wanting to be in a Cup final, for being in European positions in the League, it means that the team is doing very well.”