Sociedad almost went behind in the first 30 seconds after Celta’s Bryan Zaragoza had a shot cleared off the line.
Heavy rain in San Sebastian made control of the ball difficult for both sides, and it played a part as Mikel Oyarzabal fizzed home a left-footed daisy cutter from distance, with his second goal in as many games putting the hosts 1-0 up on 17 minutes.
Zaragoza’s goal-bound effort almost brought the equaliser as the half-hour mark approached, with sections of the sodden pitch making for an unpredictable playing surface and an exciting watch.
Play switched from end to end at lightning speed, though both defences held firm, with the dogged performances from La Real’s Duje Caleta-Car and Celta’s Manu Fernandez particularly eye-catching.
The former’s afternoon soon soured, as he was sent off in first-half stoppage time after sliding into a challenge with his studs up.
With the rain having dissipated, the start of the second half was much more leisurely, though a puddle held up Oyarzabal as the hosts had a three-on-two break.
As expected, Celta had much more of the ball against Sociedad’s 10 men, and Borja Iglesias was unlucky to see his shot cleared off the line on the hour mark.
As the rain returned, Zaragoza brought the best out of Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro, with the visitors’ 11th shot of the game. The Sky Blues soon got their reward, however, as Iglesias pounced on a loose ball to fire into the roof of the net and restore parity.
Just three minutes later, though, Oyarzabal took matters into his own hands and rifled home another long-ranger for his eighth goal in 19 league appearances against Celta.
Alvaro Odriozola was then felled in the area in stoppage time by Marcos Alonso, with Brais Mendez making no mistake from the spot to seal a victory that moves Sociedad up to eighth in the table, just a place behind their visitors but still five points adrift of them, with Celta missing out on the chance to climb into the top-five.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Mikel Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad)