Real Sociedad in European football

The club have never appeared in a European final. Their best performance was in the 1982–83 European Cup when they reached the semi-finals, losing narrowly to eventual winners Hamburger SV.^[1][2][3]

La Real have thrice competed in the group stages of the UEFA Champions League. In 2003–04, they qualified directly as runners-up in the previous season's domestic league, and progressed from the group before being beaten by Lyon in the first knockout round.^[4] Ten years later, in 2013–14 – having played no other European football and spent three years in the second division in the interim – they were again paired with Lyon, this time in the playoff round, and gained revenge by eliminating them,^[5][6] but subsequently finished bottom of the section.^[7] They returned to the competition after a decade in 2023–24, and progressed past the group stage for the second time.

In 2017, the club competed in the UEFA Europa League groups for the first time after gaining entry directly to that stage, having fallen in the last qualification round three years earlier.^[8]

In 2020, La Real appeared to be heading out of the competition at the group stage in the 90th minute of the last matchday, before a goal in stoppage time against SSC Napoli earned them a point, while a goal at almost the same moment in the other fixture meant defeat and elimination for AZ Alkmaar who had been set to go through.^[9]

Accurate as of 13 March 2025

Source: UEFA.com
Pld = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; GF = Goals for; GA = Goals against; GD = Goal difference.