Sociedad beat Maccabi 2-1 for their first EL win of the season! Real Sociedad (Spain) won 2-1 against Maccabi Tel Aviv (Israel) in the third leg of the Europa League (EL) league phase on 24 May. midfielder Ken-Ei Kubo started the game and was replaced in the 75th minute.

The match will be played in Belgrade, Serbia, as Maccabi cannot use their home stadium due to the Israez Gaza conflict, and Sociedad will be looking for their first win after drawing one and losing one of their two EL matches so far.

Coach Imanol has Mareo in goal in place of the physically-challenged Remillo, and has Turientes, Svimentes and Bryce in midfield from the right, and Ojalsabal, Sadik and Kubo up front.

Sociedad kept the ball in the Maccabi camp from the outset. In the 12th minute, Kubo was shown a yellow card for grabbing and knocking down an opponent's defender.

Sociedad scored first in the 19th minute. Hong Pacheco headed into the net from Bryce's right kick.

After the score had moved on, Sociedad continued to attack but failed to add to their tally. Kubo occasionally switched positions with Oyarsabal and also played on the right, and in the 44th minute he broke down the left flank and fired in a shot from an awkward angle that was deflected by the opposition goalkeeper. The first half ended with Sociedad leading 1-0.

In the second half, coach Imanol made a change of players in the 59th minute. Turientes and Oyarsabal were dropped and Sergio Gomez and Becker were brought on (Becker played on the right wing, with Kubo continuing on the left). Sociedad scored shortly afterwards through Sadiq from a CK, but this was not reflected in the score as it was ruled that Aguerdo, in an offside position, was involved in the play.

However, Sociedad quickly made up for the lost 2-0 score in the 64th minute when, on a fast attack, Kubo, on his own right, cut inside and carried the ball to the halfway line, where he was fouled by two Maccabi players. But the referee took advantage, and Sadiq picked up the ball spilled in front of him and passed it to Becker on the right, who crossed Becker's grounder to Sergio Gomez, who pushed in with his left foot.

Sociedad took the lead in the 69th minute when Kubo cut inside from the left and fired a right-footed grounders but it went wide. Coach Imanol made another change in the 75th minute, replacing Kubo and Aramburu with Balenecea and Erstondo. Kubo showed his quality in key areas, including opening the scoring for the second goal. However, his strength is cutting inside from the right with his left foot, which is his dominant foot, and he looked cramped on the left flank where he is not allowed to play with it.

Sociedad were one up on Maccabi in the 81st minute when they conceded a goal to Tugelman, but Olazagasti, who had just been introduced, induced Davida's second yellow card. With a numerical advantage, they maintained their one-goal lead at the final whistle, winning their third EL game of the season and their first win of the season.