Óskarsson put the hosts ahead in the sixth minute, but Pérez equalised for Levante in the 22nd. Turrientes restored Real Sociedad’s advantage five minutes later, and Mikel Oyarzabal’s influence continued to trouble the visitors as they searched for another equaliser.
Luís Castro refused to suggest Levante lacked energy, instead giving credit to their opponents while defending his team’s approach.
“We cannot say that we ran out of gas. Real Sociedad played a very accurate game and did not make many mistakes when playing out from the back,” Castro said.
“In the first half, we recovered more balls and managed to cause more damage. After the 1-1, Thiago had a very clear chance and there were other situations. Before the equaliser, we were doing well and afterwards, too.”
Castro acknowledged that his side had conceded from a familiar weakness, with spaces opening up for Real Sociedad to exploit.
“We received the second goal from an error very similar to the first, by creating spaces for them,” he said. “In the second half, I thought the substitutions would improve things, and perhaps there should have been other changes. I have to think about that.”
Despite the defeat, the Levante coach was adamant that his team would continue trying to win rather than settle for a cautious approach.
“The team has an identity of playing to win, always. You will lose sometimes, but you will always compete,” he said.
“Our objective was to win and play them face to face. Rather than saying we were bad, we should say they were better than us. We have to congratulate the opposition.”
Castro reserved particular praise for Oyarzabal, describing the Real Sociedad captain as a player capable of finding solutions even when opponents press aggressively.
“We have a player who, for me, is one of the best in the league. When we pressed, he always found spaces,” Castro said. “Oyarzabal is a difference-maker. When he is at his best, he makes things very difficult for you.”
Real Sociedad coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was pleased with both the result and his side’s football, although he felt they could have scored more.
“I am happy with the victory. I think we played very good football and had chances to score more goals,” Matarazzo said.
He also praised his players’ response after conceding.
“After scoring the 1-0, we dropped the rhythm a little and conceded the 1-1, but we reacted very well. In the second half, we continued with good intensity and great focus.”
Matarazzo said his side deliberately controlled the contest after the interval, aware of Levante’s late scoring threat.
“We could certainly have scored the third goal as well, but we controlled the match in a different way,” he said.