Athletic Club end Real Sociedad's four-game winning run as Berenguer penalty sparks derby fury

Athletic Club ended Real Sociedad’s four-game La Liga winning run with a 2-1 victory at San Mamés on Sunday 1 November, but the result was immediately overshadowed by a furious penalty dispute and a fresh injury blow to Ernesto Valverde’s forward line.

Every goal in the Bilbao derby arrived before the break. Iñaki Williams opened the scoring with an assist from his brother Nico, before Luka Sučić levelled for the visitors on the half-hour. The decisive moment came when referee Alejandro Hernandez awarded Athletic a penalty for a challenge by Jon Aramburu on Nico Williams — a decision that enraged Real Sociedad and their coaching staff in front of a crowd of 50,092.

Real Sociedad left Bilbao with a formal protest lodged. In their official match report, the club described it as “a penalty that never was” and criticised VAR for failing to intervene, adding that chip data inside the match ball showed Aramburu made contact with the ball before any foul. Head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was equally blunt, saying he could not understand why the video review had not cancelled the spot-kick. His frustration earned him a yellow card for dissent in the 65th minute, one minute after Mamadou Sarr was booked for the same offence. Real Sociedad collected four yellows in total to Athletic’s two.

The statistics offered some comfort to the visitors. Real Sociedad completed 514 accurate passes to Athletic’s 307 and dominated possession, though Ernesto Valverde’s side created the clearer chances. Unai Simón — who presented his Yashin Trophy to the home crowd before kick-off — made four saves, while Álex Remiro was called upon only once. Sučić finished as the highest-rated player on the pitch with a score of 7.52.

The win came at a cost for Athletic. Maroan Sannadi felt his hamstring early in the game and the club said they would need one or two more days to assess the extent of the damage. The setback compounds an already difficult situation in attack: Gorka Guruzeta suffered a serious knee injury at Valencia on 17 October, leaving the squad stretched for options up front.

Despite those concerns, Athletic’s momentum is building. The derby victory was their third consecutive win across all competitions, following a 6-1 cup rout of Prat and a 4-0 La Liga win over Getafe. They sit seventh in the table, two points behind Sevilla, and hold a game in hand after their matchday-eight fixture at Rayo Vallecano was suspended when objects — including paper planes and silicone balls — were thrown onto the pitch. Rayo were fined €6,000, the maximum sanction available, and the match will resume behind closed doors at Vallecas on Wednesday 9 December.

Real Sociedad return to action first, hosting Lyon in the Europa League on Thursday 5 November. Athletic travel to face Osasuna at El Sadar on Saturday 7 November.