Sporting Gijon end five-game skid with Sociedad beatdown
GIJON
Spain - Tonny Sanabria scored a hat trick as Sporting Gijon rolled to a 5-1 rout of Real Sociedad in the Spanish league on Friday.
Victory ended a five-game losing streak for the promoted club, which provisionally rose out of the relegation zone. Sociedad's troubles started just 15 seconds after kickoff when goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli spilled a cross, letting Carlos Carmona tap in his first goal of the season.
''We started with a lot of intensity and were lucky enough to score in the first minute, which gave us a huge boost,'' Carmona said.
Dani Ndi had Sporting ahead 2-0 before the 10-minute mark before Sociedad's Carlos Vela pulled one back in the 37th. But Sanabria struck his first before halftime and the Paraguayan added two more goals in the second half.
Sociedad's first loss in four rounds left it in 13th place before the rest of the teams play this round. ''This was a difficult night, we have to practice from self-criticism,'' said Sociedad midfielder Xabi Prieto. ''We didn't show the attitude we needed to. It hurts to lose this way.''
On Sunday, Atletico Madrid aims to protect its provisional league lead when it hosts Sevilla. Second-place Barcelona, which has a game in hand, visits Malaga on Saturday trailing Atletico by two points.
