Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Tickets

Manchester United are, quite rightly, considered one of the biggest football teams in the world, and when it comes to exposure, history, and perhaps even financial standing, that is probably a fair assessment.

However, from a playing perspective, they have been some way of hitting those heights for the best part of a decade.

There was always going to be a period of transition when Sir Alex Ferguson stepped away from his position as manager of the club, but now, ten years later, a series of appointments later, they are still fighting to get back to where the Scot had left them when he retired from the position in May 2013.

Ferguson led Manchester United to a host of honours, and when, in 1999, his all-conquering team came back from behind to beat Bayern Munich in Barcelona to complete a famous treble, it was their first top-tier European trophy success in over thirty years.

The previous European Cup triumph came in 1968 when the Busby Babes beat Benfica 4-1 at Wembley Stadium, with Sir Bobby Charlton and George Best among the goalscorers in that match.

In 2008, Ferguson saw his side defeat Chelsea in the first ever all-English European Cup/UEFA Champions League Final, their success coming off the back of a fluffed penalty from Blues skipper John Terry.

That isn’t to say it was all bread and roses for the long-serving boss. He did, after all, watch on as FC Barcelona gave his team a footballing lesson in Rome in 2009 and at Wembley in 2011, in two morale-sapping UEFA Champions League Final losses.

2022/23 saw them ‘slumming’ it in the UEFA Europa League before Dutch boss Erik ten Hag brought them back to the top table of European football in his first season while also winning the English League Cup to add some silverware to their trophy cabinet.

La Real are clearly not in the same league when it comes to achievements in Europe, but Real Sociedad have been batting above their station for quite some time and should not be ruled out as possible victors in this clash.

1981/82 saw the Basque Country club take part in the European Cup for the first time, and an exit at the hands of Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia in round one was the reward. However, the following year, after another La Liga title was claimed by legendary boss Alberto Ormaetxea, they actually got as far as the Semi-Finals, where they lost to Hamburger SV, who went on to beat Juventus in the final that season.

Their first appearance in the UEFA Champions League era came around in 2003/04, and they were dumped out by Lyon in the Round of 16. Ten years later, they returned to the competition but failed to get through a tough group.

2023/24 represents another long-awaited Champions League mission for the San Sebastian side.

Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Head-to-Head

Manchester United have met Real Sociedad in three previous European campaigns. In 2013/14, they were drawn in the same group, and at Old Trafford, an Inigo Martinez own goal gave the Premier League side a narrow win with the return finishing goalless.

In 2020/21, they faced each other in the Round of 32 in the UEFA Europa League, and Manchester United came away from the first leg, which was played on neutral territory due to the coronavirus pandemic, with a 4-0 triumph thanks to two goals from Bruno Fernandes and efforts from Marcus Rashford and Daniel James.

The second leg ended goalless to secure safe passage to the Round of 16 for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men.

The following season, they played each other again in the UEFA Europa League, this time in the group phase. A Brais Mendez penalty gave Sociedad the win at Old Trafford, and Argentine striker Alejandro Garnacho put away the only goal of the game at the Anoeta Stadium. Both teams thus qualified for the knockout rounds.

Manchester United vs Real Sociedad Connections

The only player of note to have represented both teams is Belgian international Adnan Januzaj. The teenager burst onto the scene at Manchester United, having moved to the club from Anderlecht.

The lively wide-man scored twice on his full Premier League debut but arguably failed to deliver on his obvious potential. He made a total of 63 appearances for the club, scoring five goals, before moving to Real Sociedad in July 2017.

He made 168 appearances for the La Liga side over the course of five seasons, scoring 23 goals, before moving again, this time to Sevilla.