Real Sociedad tighten grip on fourth while Girona and Celta draw
Elsewhere, Celta Vigo drew 1-1 at home with Girona to break a streak of four straight defeats for the hosts, who put further distance between themselves and the drop zone.
Real Sociedad 1-0 Almeria
La Real came into this contest in a buoyant mood after strengthening their grip on a Champions League spot with a superb 2-1 win at Barcelona and had an ideal opportunity to build on the feel-good factor against a side with the joint-worst away record in the division.
However, that positivity almost went out of the window within two minutes when Almeria's Lazaro nearly stunned the Reale Arena with a curling effort which was pushed to safety by Alex Remiro.
This seemed to spark Imanol Alguacil’s side into action, with Aihen Munoz at the heart of their attacking play down the left flank. The full-back teed up both Carlos Fernandez and Andoni Gorosabel with brilliant crosses into the box, but neither could find the target.
Alguacil’s men were biding their time to break down a well-organised Almeria side but were dealt a blow after David Silva went off injured with what looked like a recurrence of a muscle injury, and Brais Mendez entered the fray.
While one player was withdrawn through injury, another was given their marching orders, after the visitors’ Luis Suarez saw his yellow card upgraded to a red following a VAR review.
His high boot on Robin Le Normand’s shin proved to be the Colombian’s final act, and he took a swipe at the pitchside monitor in disgust as he trudged down the tunnel.
The hosts capitalised on their numerical advantage seconds before the half-time whistle with Kubo’s superb curling left-footed strike flying past a helpless Fernando Martinez.
Kubo was looking lively and almost had a chance to double La Real’s lead, but could not quite take the ball into his stride following some superb link-up play with Mikel Oyarzabal.
The Japan international was a constant menace and saw his angled strike go inches past the far post following a delightful exchange with Mendez.
Despite the close scoreline, Rubi’s men struggled to cope with their one-man disadvantage and were seemingly focused on limiting the potential damage, as Le Normand flashed his close-range shot wide.
La Real saw out the closing stages with relative ease and know that anything other than a Villarreal victory over Cadiz on Wednesday will secure their place in the Champions League next season.
Meanwhile, Rubi’s men remain 15th and continue their fight for survival against Real Valladolid on Sunday.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Takefusa Kubo (Real Sociedad)
Celta Vigo 1-1 Girona
Knowing a win would go a long way to guaranteeing La Liga survival, Celta took control of the game early on as Girona appeared content to let the hosts have the ball.
Despite dominating the ball, the hosts struggled to create anything meaningful in front of goal. Their best effort in the opening exchanges came from Oscar Rodriguez, who thundered a long-range free-kick wide of the near post.
Celta needed something to fall their way, and they finally got the opener just before half-time thanks to an almighty slice of luck.
Javi Galan showed quality after pouncing on a loose touch to gallop forward down the left before playing the ball across the box toward Carles Perez. His first-time shot was goalbound, but it took a significant deflection to wrong-foot Paulo Gazzaniga and find the bottom corner of the net.
Los Celestes shot themselves in the foot shortly after the break by gifting Girona a leveller.
First, it was Galan who gave away a penalty following a lazy attempt to tackle Viktor Tsyhankov, but it appeared the situation had been rescued by Ivan Villar, who saved the initial spot-kick from Cristhian Stuani.
A retake was required following a VAR intervention, and the Uruguayan made no mistake with his second attempt to extend his penalty record to 34 scored in 38 attempts for Girona.
Jorgen Strand Larsen had the best chance to be the hero for the hosts as he found himself in on goal in the final stages. His excellent first touch allowed him to steady himself but the attempt to nutmeg Gazzaniga ultimately failed and the ball bounced clear to safety.
Celta are now five points clear of relegation although their rivals have three games left to play, while Girona’s run of two wins in their last 11 away games may well cost them a European spot as they failed to put the pressure on Athletic Bilbao with a victory tonight.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Carles Perez (Celta Vigo)
