Real Sociedad Fire 16 Shots, Hit a Wall: 0-0 With Celta at Anoeta
La Real dominated the ball and the chances but Ionut Radu and a stubborn Celta block took a point back to Vigo.
A goalless draw rarely tells you much. This one does. Real Sociedad out-shot Celta Vigo 16 to 7 at Anoeta on Thursday, won the expected-goals battle 0.97 to 0.37, and had 23 touches in the opposition box to Celta's 15, per FotMob — and still couldn't score.
Radu stands tall
Celta goalkeeper Ionut Radu was named player of the match with an 8.3 rating, per FotMob, anchoring a back three of Núñez, Yoel Lago and Marcos Alonso that bent without breaking. Celta's best moment fell to Iago Aspas, whose left-footed effort from the right side of the box was blocked, according to El-Balad's match report. Late substitutions from both benches and five minutes of added time changed nothing.
La Real lined up in a 4-2-3-1 with Takefusa Kubo, Mikel Oyarzabal and Ander Barrenetxea behind striker Orri Óskarsson, but the final ball never quite arrived. The frustration showed in the bookings — yellows for Yangel Herrera and Luka Sucic, while Celta picked up three of their own, per Sports Mole.
What it means
Real Sociedad came in off a 2-1 win over Espanyol and had a chance to build early-season momentum at home; instead they banked a single point against a side that had just lost 2-0 to Athletic Club. For Celta, a clean sheet on the road — earned largely by Radu — is the kind of result that keeps a season steady even when the attack, Aspas's blocked chance aside, offers little.
Both sides will feel the table barely moved. In May, Real Sociedad may remember this as two points that got away at home.