Matarazzo says Real Sociedad lacked precision in Lyon draw

What happened

Real Sociedad coach Pellegrino Matarazzo said his side lacked the precision and decision-making to turn their superiority into a winning goal after they were held by Olympique de Lyon, according to the Spanish outlet MARCA. Speaking at his post-match press conference, Matarazzo agreed with the suggestion that his team had not taken advantage of their dominance, while praising the overall performance, especially after the break.

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Matarazzo said he felt Real had played a very good match, with plenty of control and many situations in which they could have created more chances, but he acknowledged it was not their best offensive display. He credited Lyon's defensive line and block, saying that breaking down a very good defensive unit requires a little more quality on the ball. He added that, overall, his players competed very well across the 90 minutes.

The coach was critical of how the equaliser was conceded, describing the goal as too easy and also pointing to the opportunity Lyon created late in the game. Apart from those moments, he said, Real did not allow many chances, so there were many positives to take. He said his side would have liked to take the three points but accepted that football works that way, and he was already looking ahead to the next match against Crystal Palace.

On the final third, Matarazzo attributed the shortfall to precision, speed and decision-making. He recalled two clear situations involving Gonçalo in the second half: one in which the goalkeeper was out of position, and another in which there was a large gap between Lyon's centre-backs that Real had analysed before the match, but the pass was too slow and imprecise, allowing the goalkeeper to cut it out. He also noted transitions in which the unprotected central lane was not detected, saying two or three specific decisions needed to be sharper to convert dominance into clear chances.

Matarazzo called the draw a fair result but felt there was more available from the game. He said it is difficult to separate matches because there are so many, and with only four games left his team want to reach their objectives, which he said requires three points from each match. The result was a second home stumble that, per MARCA, complicates Real's push for the top eight.