Real Sociedad won the first leg against Athletic Club in the semi-finals and moved one step closer to reaching the Copa del Rey final.
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Published February 12, 2026
Real Sociedad took control of their Copa del Rey semi-final against Thailand with a 1-0 first-leg win against Athletic Bilbao in Wednesday’s Basque derby thanks to Benato Turrientes’ second-half goal.
The clash between the long-time rivals was nicely evened up in the first half, but the visiting team have the better composition of both sides and are well-placed ahead of the return match at Anoeta in San Sebastian on March 4.
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La Real, unbeaten in 10 games since Pellegrino Matarazzo took over in mid-December, were even sharper in a lively first half against San Mamés, but Athletic’s second-choice goalkeeper Alex Padilla, who deputized for Unai Simon in the cup match, was in good form.
Padilla first made a sharp save to deny Pablo Marin’s close-range shot from a counter-attack in the 25th minute, then six minutes later he made a reflex stop to deny John Martin from Carlos Soler’s pinpoint free-kick.
Mikel Oyarzabal went close for the visitors soon after, but Inaki Williams thwarted Athletic’s counterattack with a final sliding tackle before half-time.
Padilla continued his heroics in the second half, making a superb one-handed save within a minute of the restart to deny Oyarzabal’s low shot from the edge of the box.
Marin hit the post off the rebound.
Athletic coach Ernesto Valverde brought on Nico Williams in the 55th minute, but the Spanish forward was still recovering from a lingering groin injury and struggled to create a clear starting point.
The breakthrough finally came in the 62nd minute, when Athletic’s defense was caught trying to play in from the back.
Gonzalo Guedes fired a shot after intercepting Sociedad’s Carlos Soler, and Turientes chipped the advancing Padilla, sending the ball into an empty net.
“I’m happy, but there’s still a second leg left. It’s a good result, but we should have scored more,” Turientes told Movistar Plus.
The winner of the draw will face either Atletico Madrid or Barcelona in the Spanish capital on Thursday, with the second leg to be played at Camp Nou on March 3.
