Real Sociedad book Europa League spot the quick way via Copa del Rey | OneFootball

Real Sociedad have booked a Europa League spot the quick way, winning the Copa del Rey to confirm continental football with seven games to spare, regardless of how their league campaign ends.

As reported by AS, this season marks a clear break from the club's recent league-led qualifications for Europe.

In 2020-21 and 2021-22 they posted 62 points in both seasons, finishing fifth and sixth. That rise peaked in 2022-23 with 71 points and fourth place, bringing direct Champions League access. Even in 2023-24 they stayed in the top bracket with 60 points and sixth.

Continuity vanished in 2024-25, when Imanol Alguacil's side collected 51 points and ninth place, missing out on Europe.

The slump deepened early this term. By December they had flirted with the lower reaches and even the drop, prompting a change in the dugout and the arrival of Pellegrino Matarazzo.

Under the American, Real Sociedad have steadied, though their league numbers still trail past standards after that start. They sit eighth on 43 points, a haul that in prior years would not have sustained a European push.

This time progression has come through knockout efficiency rather than 38 rounds of consistency.

Source: AS