Real Sociedad ended their first Basque derby match with a 1-2 loss to Athletic Bilbao in Round 11 of La Liga. The match took place at the San Mamés Stadium, and although Luka Sučić's goal led to a goal, the Reds regained the lead thanks to Unai Simon's solid defense, and ultimately ended in defeat.
Real Sociedad midfielder Takefusa Kubo, who appeared in the middle of the match, received mixed reviews from local newspapers. The Spanish newspaper ``Us'' criticized his lack of presence, saying, ``You could hardly even notice that he had entered the pitch.'' On the other hand, Mundo Deportivo said, ``We played for just over 15 minutes trying to bring freshness and surprise to our attack, but in reality we were far from it,'' and praised the team for only making one good cross.
However, the newspaper El Desmarque affirmed Kubo's positive attitude even in the face of defeat. The article praised his contribution by stating, ``When the team was at a stalemate in search of an equalizing goal, he fulfilled his responsibility by demanding the ball himself, and delivered a dangerous cross.''
Real Sociedad's next match is scheduled to be against Lyon on the 5th in round 4 of the Europa League league phase. Before the match, the team needs to reflect on what they learned from the derby defeat and find a balance between attack and defense. It will be interesting to see how Takefusa Kubo approaches his future play in response to this evaluation. Fans and media will continue to pay attention to how he can contribute to the team in the upcoming games.