Iñigo Ruiz de Galarreta struck a stunning late equaliser to earn Athletic Club a dramatic 1-1 draw against Basque rivals Real Sociedad at San Mamés, denying their neighbours a first LaLiga derby double since the 2018/19 season.

Real Sociedad arrived in Bilbao in strong form, having lost just once in their previous nine away matches in all competitions (W5, D3), and they looked comfortable coping with the intensity of the derby atmosphere in the early stages.

The visitors came close to taking the lead inside five minutes, only to be denied by outstanding defending. Unai Simón saved well from Gonçalo Guedes in a one-on-one, before Jesús Areso produced a crucial sliding challenge to prevent Unai Gómez from converting the rebound.

That double intervention lifted the home crowd, but Athletic struggled to translate the momentum into meaningful attacking opportunities. Instead, Sociedad continued to pose the greater threat, with Simón once again called into action to deny Guedes’ header shortly before half-time.

The breakthrough arrived soon after. From Sergio Gómez’s corner, the ball was worked out to Guedes 25 yards from goal, and the Portuguese winger unleashed a fierce strike into the near top corner for his sixth goal of the campaign.

Sociedad goalkeeper Álex Remiro remained largely untroubled in the first half and was fortunate early in the second period when Aitor Paredes fired narrowly wide from distance.

Normal service soon resumed, and La Real nearly doubled their advantage when top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal squandered a golden opportunity, dragging his effort wide with the goal at his mercy.

That miss nearly proved costly as Athletic increased the pressure in search of an equaliser. However, Sociedad’s defence held firm, while the home supporters grew increasingly frustrated by a series of tight refereeing decisions.

The turning point arrived seven minutes from time when Brais Méndez was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident involving Paredes — the third consecutive match in which Sociedad had a player sent off.

The dismissal further heightened the atmosphere, and Athletic capitalised in dramatic fashion. Three minutes from time, substitute Ruiz de Galarreta cut in from the left, beat two defenders, and rifled a composed finish into the far corner to salvage a point.

The late equaliser lifted Athletic three places to 11th in the table, although their winless LaLiga run now stretches to six matches (D2, L4). Meanwhile, Real Sociedad remain eighth and continue their unbeaten start under head coach Pellegrino Matarazzo (W3, D3).