Perhaps sensing a vulnerability in the visitors, who came into the game without a goal or a point, the Txuri-Urdin struck after six minutes to immediately take control of the game.
Aihen Muñoz appeared to have wasted a chance, as his volley was poorly-struck and going wide, but Mikel Merino showed alertness at the back post to head the ball home from close range.
The hosts were already in the ascendancy, but they were also given a helping hand minutes later when a loose pass from Florentino Luís was pounced upon by Mikel Oyarzabal, who outpaced the defence and slotted a calm finish past Anatoliy Trubin to make it 2-0 after 11 minutes.
The punishment continued, and Merino struck again, bundling over the line at the end of a free kick. While the penultimate touch was off his hand, leading to VAR disallowing the goal, Sociedad were unfazed.
A third eventually came on 21 minutes, when a well-worked move saw the ball spread to Ander Barrenetxea on the left, and he cut inside and hammered the ball into the far corner to the delight of the home faithful.
It should’ve then been four before the half-hour mark, when a wild lunge from Nicolás Otamendi on Oyarzabal resulted in a penalty, but Brais Méndez saw his penalty smack the post and bounce to safety. Benfica came out fighting after HT and struck quickly to get themselves back into the game.
Otamendi showed the composure of a striker in the box to calmly pick out Rafa Silva, who slid in to score Benfica’s first goal of the group stage.
But any attempt to build on that momentum was stifled by several stoppages in play, as a result of the away fans throwing flares in the stands, and the hosts were able to hold on to claim the win. Real Sociedad go top, and qualification would be secured if Inter Milan defeat RB Salzburg later tonight, while Benfica remain bottom with zero points and only a spot in the Europa League to play for after a fourth defeat in four UCL matchdays.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)
