Elche levels match 2-2 against Real Sociedad with Fer Niño’s late equalizer

Elche CF clawed back from a two-goal deficit to salvage a 2-2 draw against Real Sociedad on September 7, 2026, with Fer Niño’s 74th-minute equalizer capping one of the more chaotic second halves LaLiga has produced this young season.

Real Sociedad looked comfortable after racing to a 2-0 lead before halftime. Then a red card, a VAR-nullified goal, and two unanswered Elche strikes turned the match on its head in the span of ten second-half minutes.

Real Sociedad’s first-half dominance

The visitors wasted no time asserting themselves at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero. Job Ochieng opened the scoring in the 11th minute, giving Real Sociedad an early cushion that seemed to deflate an Elche side still searching for their first win of the campaign.

Twenty minutes later, Yangel Herrera doubled the advantage in the 31st minute, with Ochieng again involved in the buildup.

The 64th minute changed everything

The match’s pivot point arrived in the 64th minute, when VAR intervened to show Real Sociedad defender Jon Martín a red card. The same review also wiped out what appeared to be a third goal for the visitors, with Luka Sucic’s strike disallowed due to a handball infraction.

In the span of a single stoppage, Real Sociedad went from potentially leading 3-0 to playing with ten men while still up 2-0.

Thomas Lemar pulled one back in the 67th minute, just three minutes after the red card. Víctor Chust provided the assist, threading a pass that Lemar converted to make it 2-1.

Seven minutes later, Fer Niño completed the comeback. Tete Morente set him up in the 74th minute, and Niño finished to level the score at 2-2.

What the result means for both clubs

For Elche, the draw represents a complicated kind of progress. One point from their opening four LaLiga matches is a record that won’t inspire confidence in the boardroom, but the manner of this comeback might matter more than the arithmetic suggests.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, will view this as two points dropped rather than one gained. Leading 2-0 away from home with half an hour left should produce three points far more often than it produces one. Jon Martín’s red card fundamentally altered the contest.

Real Sociedad sit on four points from four matches after the draw.

Elche’s second-half adjustments deserve credit. Rather than panicking after the red card, they built their attacks patiently, using Lemar’s quality and Morente’s delivery to create two well-worked goals.

The VAR decision in the 64th minute will be debated. Disallowing Sucic’s goal and issuing a red card in the same review is the type of double punishment that feels harsh regardless of technical correctness.

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