Real Sociedad a step closer to Champions League Group Stage after Road Win
Real Sociedad proved their worth today beating Olympique Lyon at home 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League Playoff Round match at the Stade de Gerland in France.
The La Liga outfit find themselves ahead in the 17th minute after Frenchman and boyhood Olympique Lyon supporter Antoine Greizmann convert an acrobatic effort to score from a Carlos Vela cross. Vela himself was unlucky not to be among the goal scorers after seeing his effort went off the post earlier before providing the assist for Greizmann’s goal.
Sociedad stepped up the pace early in the second half and was rewarded with another superb strike in the 50th minute from long range this time coming off the boot of Haris Seferovic. The Swiss International who was a standout in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup showed us glimpses of the player who four years ago most people thought would be a future star.
Trailing 2-0 down at home Olympique Lyon were hoping to find inspiration from somewhere to rescue their fading hopes of reaching the group stage. Instead of improving thing seems to take a turn for the worst when Serbian defender Milan Bisevac was given his marching orders in the 70th minutes for picking up his second yellow card of the match.
The match went beyond Lyon reach and they’re now faced with an uphill task to get a favorable result in the return leg in Spain on August 28, 2013.
Real Sociedad terrific fourth place finish in La Liga ahead of Valencia to qualify for the Champions League was well deserved. They proved this today with the road win and are now just ninety minutes away from reaching the UEFA Champions League group stage.
Heading back to Spain with extra confidence Real Sociedad can concentrate on their upcoming La Liga fixture knowing that a win or a draw will see them qualify for the lucrative group stage of the UEFA champions League.
