Oyarzabal assisted three goals in eight minutes at Lillestrom

Real Sociedad won 6-0 at Åråsen Stadion, after a missed penalty left Lillestrom chasing a game that had already slipped away.

Between the 25th and 33rd minutes at Åråsen Stadion, Real Sociedad scored three times, and Mikel Oyarzabal assisted every one. Sergio Gómez scored in the 25th and 27th minutes, Luka Sučić in the 33rd, so Lillestrom were three down before the half-hour. Their one real moment came in the 50th minute, when Thomas Lehne Olsen had a penalty and missed it, and a side already that far behind rarely recovers from that kind of setback.

Expected goals, or xG, gives each chance a value based on how often a shot from that spot tends to go in, so a close-range effort counts for far more than a speculative one. Lillestrom's chances added up to 1.9 xG, more than double their own average of 0.8 across three home games this season. They took only 14 shots, close to their usual 14.5, which tells you the quality of their attempts changed far more than the number of them.

Lillestrom had 43% of the ball, below their usual 55.3%, so the rhythm they normally enjoy at home was taken away from them. Real Sociedad had 57% and completed 553 of their 613 passes, and their 16 shots were above the league average of 14.1 per team. The gap was not in how often they got into shooting positions but in how well they used them.

Real Sociedad's expected goals came to 2.09, well above the league's average of 1.52 per team. Lillestrom usually concede 1.05 xG in their home games, so the chances Sociedad created here were roughly double what the home side normally allows. Only two of Sociedad's eight shots on target were kept out by the Lillestrom goalkeeper, which left very little for the home defence to hold.

Lillestrom usually concede one goal per home match, and the total in this game was far above that, against a league average of 2.9 goals per match. Their own scoring average of 0.7 per game was never reached, as they failed to score at all. The collapse was not spread evenly across the match, because most of the damage came before the interval and the penalty miss arrived after the game had already been decided.

Sergio Gómez and Luka Sučić each scored twice, and both earned top marks in the match statistics. Oyarzabal's three assists were the feature of the early minutes, and his rating of 8.7 reflects a player who created chances from the middle of the pitch rather than finishing them. Orri Steinn Óskarsson scored at 64 minutes, assisted by Gonçalo Guedes, and Arsen Zakharyan added the sixth at 80 minutes with a pass from Benat Turrientes.

On the table as it stands, Lillestrom are 25th and Real Sociedad 24th, both with one point from two games.

Player of the matchSergio Gómez2 goals9.0

L. Sučić2 goals9.0

Mikel Oyarzabal3 assists8.7

Gonçalo Guedes1 assist7.7