Takefusa Kubo scores equalizer as Real Sociedad rallies for win over Mallorca

Takefusa Kubo notched his seventh goal of the Spanish La Liga season as he helped Real Sociedad come back to beat Mallorca 2-1 on Sunday

The 22-year-old Samurai Blue star equalized against his former club in the 38th minute at Estadi Mallorca Son Moix after Antonio Sanchez had given the hosts an early lead.

Kubo picked up the ball inside halfway and dribbled into the area before drilling a low shot past Mallorca goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

The attacker refrained from celebrating out of respect for Mallorca fans who supported him during two separate loan stints with the club.

“It’s because I feel respect and a sense of attachment to the people of Mallorca,” Kubo said in his interview after the match.

Kubo went close to a second goal with a curling effort that dipped over the bar in injury time, shortly before Mikel Merino headed in the winner for the visitors.

Mallorca went down to 10 men when Antonio Raillo received back-to-back yellow cards in first-half stoppage time and finished with nine on the pitch after Siebe Van der Heyden saw red in the wake of Merino’s goal.

Sociedad moved up to sixth in the table as it ended a five-game scoring drought across all competitions.

“Hopefully this is the end of that trend and we can score more,” said Kubo, who earlier this month extended his contract with Sociedad until 2029.

Elsewhere in Europe, fellow Japan international Takuma Asano scored for Bochum in a 3-2 upset win at home against German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich.

Ritsu Doan netted for Freiburg in a 3-3 draw with visiting Eintracht Frankfurt, which gave former Japan captain Makoto Hasebe his first start of the season. The 40-year-old Hasebe played all 90 minutes in central defense.