Real Sociedad have secured a place in the Copa del Rey semi-finals for the third straight season, staging a dramatic comeback to defeat Basque rivals Alaves 3-2 at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.
The visitors started brightly, with Goncalo Guedes testing the home goalkeeper early, dragging a shot wide from the edge of the box in the fourth minute.
Alaves soon took the lead, however, as Abderrahman Rebbach capitalized on a perfectly timed pass from Denis Suarez, firing a low strike from 25 yards past Alex Remiro.
La Real responded quickly. On the 15th minute, Guedes set up captain Mikel Oyarzabal, who slotted home from a tight angle after Alaves failed to clear a corner, leveling the score.
The game remained finely poised until a costly mistake from Alaves gifted Real Sociedad the lead. Benat Turrientes clumsily brought down Jonny Otto in the box, and Toni Martinez calmly converted the resulting penalty.
In the second half, Guedes came close to equalizing again, only to be denied by Raul Fernandez from close range.
Another penalty opportunity arose for Real Sociedad when Duje Caleta-Car inadvertently pulled Martinez’s shirt over his head in the box, but Remiro was alert to save the spot-kick.
Guedes eventually found the net in the 75th minute, finishing expertly across Fernandez after a slick pass from Turrientes.
The visitors then completed the turnaround just five minutes later, with substitutes Luka Sucic and Orri Oskarsson combining beautifully.
Sucic set up Oskarsson, who slotted the ball through the goalkeeper’s legs to hand Real Sociedad their first lead of the match.
That proved decisive, as La Real held on to progress to the semi-finals after a pulsating Basque showdown.
