Real Sociedad has started the 2025-26 season with a performance that surpasses any start to the season in the club's recent history. With 13 points after eight games, the team led by the American Pellegrino Matarazzo is sixth in the table, eight points above the performance of the 2024-25 season under Sergio Francisco and five more than that of the 2023-24 season with Imanol Albizua.
The benchmark of 13 points is compared to Real's best start in the Imanol Albizua era, which also reached that figure in the 2019-20 season, when the club finished in fifth position and secured a place in European competitions. In the 2024-25 season, under the command of Sergio Francisco, Real had accumulated only five points in the first 24 rounds, leaving them in the relegation zone. Under Imanol, Real had added eight points in the first eight games of the 2024-25 season, finishing in fourteenth place.
Matarazzo's performance also surpasses the season starts of other coaches who have passed through Real, such as Lasarte, Montañer, Arrasate, Moyes, the first Eusebio and Garitano. The team has shown an electric and offensive game, although a certain defensive fragility still persists that has been evident in some matches.
As for the future perspective, the club seems to follow the path set by Imanol, hoping to repeat the great starts to the season that led Real to leading positions in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, and to European qualification in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The Copa del Rey is already underway and Real maintains a position that allows it to aspire to a second European competition in the next campaign.
In summary, Real Sociedad, under the direction of Matarazzo, has equaled the best start to the season recorded under Imanol Albizua, surpassing previous coaches and placing itself in a favorable position to continue the club's upward trajectory. The next phase of the club will be crucial to determine if the initial performance is maintained and if Real manages to consolidate itself again in the elite of Spanish football.