Beñat Turrientes had put the visitors ahead just after half-time, winning possession during a press on the hosts’ build-up before finishing past goalkeeper Kjell Scherpen. Real Sociedad looked set to take all three points, but Keita struck in the 88th minute, converting from close range after a free-kick reached him at the far post.
The late goal frustrated head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo, whose side had worked hard to protect their advantage. Speaking after the match, he said the ending overshadowed several improvements in his team’s performance.
“You don’t feel good when you play a good match, lead 1-0 until the end and then concede from a set piece. It doesn’t leave a good feeling, but that is football. Today we played against a good team. It was a match between two sides who competed well, and we saw many positive things we can take into the coming weeks.
"Several aspects have improved significantly and many players performed very well. I’m happy about that, although unfortunately we only take one point.”
Matarazzo felt his side had not moved the ball quickly enough in the first half, despite finding opportunities to get Mikel Oyarzabal involved and use the runs of Job and Gonçalo Guedes. At the interval, he urged his players to show more determination and identify space earlier.
The coach also explained that adjustments to the pressing structure helped Real Sociedad improve after the break. Union Saint-Gilloise’s back three had initially made it difficult to press effectively, while the visitors’ defensive shape needed to become more compact.
Despite the improvement, Matarazzo believed the decisive set piece was avoidable. He felt his players had failed to clear decisively, then did not push their defensive line out quickly enough after the ball was flicked on.
“It hurts,” he said, adding that the team had defended reasonably well overall but had not handled the key moment properly.
The result left Real Sociedad with one point from their first two Europa League matches. Matarazzo accepted that the team faced pressure to deliver results but said their ambitions remained unchanged.
“We have the pressure to perform and to win, of course, to achieve our objectives. We know we have a difficult group, but we are ambitious with our goals and we stick to them. Next week we want to win in Oslo.”
For Real Sociedad, the late concession turned a promising away performance into another frustrating European evening.