Unai Marrero saved the first and second Atletico Madrid penalties in the shootout, but Real Sociedad still lost the final after a 2-2 draw. The goalkeeper, chosen to start in the final, finished with two stops and a performance that kept his side alive until the end.
Atletico did not need long to ask a question. Marrero could do nothing on the club’s first shot on goal, when Lookman scored, but he recovered well as the match settled. Barrenetxea put Sociedad ahead after 10 seconds, turning in Guedes’ assist at 14 seconds, while Oyarzabal later scored a penalty after Musso fouled Guedes before halftime.
That early burst gave Sociedad the kind of start finals rarely allow, and Marrero’s job became one of control as much as shot-stopping. He showed good command of the area and personality in the second half, a useful trait once Atletico began pushing for a way back into the match.
The equalizer came through Julián Álvarez, who made it 2-2 after the break and forced the game toward penalties. Marrero was beaten on that shot, but he had already done enough to keep Sociedad competitive when the match started to tilt. In the shootout, he stopped the first two Atletico Madrid kicks, a sequence that put pressure back on the other side before Marín scored the last penalty. Oyarzabal had also scored a penalty in a final, adding another key moment to Sociedad’s side of the night.
What made Marrero’s performance stand out was the contradiction at the heart of it: he was sharp enough to save two penalties and steady enough to organize his area, yet he still finished on the losing side. For a player entrusted with the final, that is the kind of night that lingers — a strong showing wrapped inside a defeat that Real Sociedad could not quite escape.