Real Sociedad Hit Lillestrøm for Six in Rampant Europa League Rout

Real Sociedad rediscovered their scoring touch in devastating fashion on Thursday night, thrashing Lillestrøm 6-0 at the Åråsen Stadion to end a four-match winless run in the Europa League. The Spanish side had gone two draws and two defeats in the competition before exploding into life in Norway. It was captain Mikel Oyarzabal who lit the fuse. After the hosts had threatened twice in the opening minute, Oyarzabal picked out Sergio Gómez to fire home the opener, then cut the ball back for the same player to double the lead within two minutes. Oyarzabal then claimed a third first-half assist, feeding Luka Sučić to make it 3-0 at the break. Lillestrøm briefly sensed a lifeline after the restart when Jon Martín fouled Gustav Nyheim in the box, but Thomas Olsen's penalty was pushed away by Unai Marrero. From there it was one-way traffic: substitute Orri Óskarsson tapped in Gonçalo Guedes' cross for his second goal in as many appearances, Sučić calmly finished his brace, and Arsen Zakharyan completed the rout in the 80th minute. Sociedad now host Lyon in their next outing, while Lillestrøm welcome Viktoria Plzeň still searching for a first win of the league phase.