Kubo remains on the bench as Matarazzo demands more

Take Kubo was again left out, behind Marín and Ochieng, as Matarazzo called for more from him. Against Lyon, the Japanese forward watched from the bench at Anoeta. This season, it was the fifth time he had not featured in a Real Sociedad match. He has been unused in five of 15 games, or one third. He has also started only five times, with three of those starts coming in the first four league rounds; across the last 11 matches, he has started only twice.

Kubo’s situation is therefore difficult. Job Ochieng, his rival for a place, has recently moved ahead in the pecking order and is being used more by the coach. Against Lyon, Ochieng came on before Kubo; Marín also entered from the bench, while Kubo stayed on the sidelines and one substitution was ultimately left unused. Four wingers played ahead of him.

Matarazzo said he had spoken with Kubo and made clear what he expects: “Take is very talented. He has to use the minutes he gets to earn more.” He added that performance mattered and that some profiles could be better suited to a particular match situation. Explaining the decision to use Pablo, he pointed to the plan to defend with five and to Pablo’s ability to make repeated runs with Job and create space for Luka and Mikel.

The coach also acknowledged that his side had not attacked well enough against Lyon. He felt they controlled much of the second half but lacked the precision, speed and decision-making to turn their spells on top into clear chances. He pointed in particular to two situations involving Gonçalo, where passes that were too slow or inaccurate undermined the opportunities. “I think a draw is a fair result, but there was more in this match than we managed to get out of it,” he said. Matarazzo also said his team needed three points in every match to achieve its objectives.

Kubo could have another chance to play against Rayo before joining Japan for the November international window. He will look to regain the level he had previously shown with Real Sociedad. For the club, the draw against Lyon was also a setback in the race for the league phase’s top eight places.