Four minutes in, the Reale Arena had its answer. Ander Barrenetxea gathered the ball on the edge of the Espanyol box, opened his body and curled a right-footed shot into the top right corner, Mikel Oyarzabal the architect. A season that had begun with two defeats needed a spark, and here it was, delivered with the sort of clean conviction that quietens the doubts before they can gather.

Yet the afternoon refused to run to script. Espanyol, level on points and quietly enjoying the sharper start to their campaign, would not simply fold, and the equaliser arrived at the cruellest possible moment. Real Sociedad had to summon a second act, and they found it in Óskarsson, whose 61st-minute finish settled a contest that swung from comfort to jeopardy and back again.

The final reckoning read 2-1, three precious points that lift Real Sociedad clear of the bottom rungs and hand them the first true exhale of their season. For Espanyol, it was a reminder that promising numbers count for little when the moments that decide matches slip away.

A perfect start

There is a particular kind of relief in scoring early when the pressure has been mounting, and Real Sociedad seized it. Barrenetxea's opener carried no hesitation, the movement crisp, the strike surgical, Oyarzabal's pass inviting a finish that the winger was only too happy to supply. Inside four minutes the home crowd had shed its unease and found its voice.

The goal set the tone for a first half in which Real Sociedad looked the more purposeful side, playing with the freedom of a team that had finally landed the first blow. Oyarzabal, pulling strings from the front, was at the heart of everything, his vision and touch lending the attack a rhythm that had been missing across the opening fortnight of the campaign.

For a spell it seemed the lead might grow, the anxieties of two straight losses melting away under the August sun. But football rarely rewards complacency, and the longer a one-goal advantage lingers, the more it begins to feel like an invitation. Espanyol were listening.

Punished on the stroke of half-time

The equaliser landed with the timing of a thief. Deep into first-half stoppage time, Espanyol broke at pace, Javi Hernández feeding Roberto Fernández, who steadied himself in the centre of the box and drove a right-footed shot low into the bottom left corner. A fast break, ruthlessly executed, and the scoreboard was level at the very moment Real Sociedad thought they had reached the interval intact.

It was a goal that spoke to Espanyol's early-season sharpness, the five they had already scored this term testament to a side unafraid to attack. Roberto Fernández's composure in the decisive instant turned a promising counter into a genuine reward, and the visitors trooped off level, momentum tilting their way.

For Real Sociedad, the timing stung. To lead for the best part of 45 minutes and then concede on the whistle is the sort of blow that can seep into a fragile team's confidence, and given their standing near the foot of the table, the danger of a familiar collapse hung in the air as the sides regrouped.

Óskarsson settles it

What Real Sociedad needed above all was character, and it came in the 61st minute through the man who has been asked to shoulder their goalscoring burden. Oyarzabal, imperious again, threaded a through ball on the counter, and Óskarsson took it in his stride before finishing from the centre of the box into the bottom left corner. Another fast break, this time in the home side's favour, and the lead was restored.

Two goals, two assists for Oyarzabal, a performance that underlined how much this team leans on its captain's craft. Óskarsson's finish carried the calm of a striker who trusts his own instincts, and it gave Real Sociedad the cushion they had to defend with far greater urgency than their earlier command had suggested.

From there the hosts dug in, aware that a single lapse could undo everything they had rebuilt. The final half-hour demanded discipline rather than flourish, and this time they held firm, seeing out the win that their bright start had promised but their sloppy first-half ending had jeopardised.

What it means

Three points transform the mood if not yet the picture. Real Sociedad climb to 12th, still level on points with much of the congested pack around them, but with a first victory now banked and the sting of two opening defeats eased. For a side that had scored only three and shipped six before kick-off, the manner of the response matters as much as the result.

Espanyol, meanwhile, stay 10th and are left to rue a match they helped shape but could not close out. Their attacking returns remain healthy, five goals across three games no small thing, yet the defensive lapse on the counter proved decisive. A team level on points with their hosts leaves the Basque Country with nothing to show for a spirited afternoon.

The margins in this stretch of the table are wafer-thin, a single result enough to shuffle the order entirely. Real Sociedad will hope this is the win that steadies them; Espanyol must channel their promise into points before the early goodwill of a new season begins to curdle. Both know how quickly momentum can turn, having watched it swing three times in a single afternoon.