Home is sweet again as Real Sociedad beats Cadiz for first home win since November

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP) — Real Sociedad got its first home win since November when Mike Merino and Arsen Zakharyan scored to beat Cadiz 2-0 in the Spanish league on Friday.

Merino claimed his third goal in three games after 28 minutes and Zakharyan scored three minutes after coming on as a substitute midway through the second period.

The win left Sociedad in sixth place in La Liga, four points ahead of Real Betis and seven behind Athletic Bilbao.

It had not won at home since Nov. 26 but its second win in a row after four consecutive defeats signalled a return to stability, midfielder Brais Méndez said.

“We’d gone eight games without winning at home, so we deserved this,” said Méndez, one of the home side’s outstanding performers on the night. “We’ve had a bad run but we are motivated.”

Cadiz stayed third from bottom, two points adrift of Celta Vigo, which sacked former Liverpool and Everton coach Rafael Benitez on Wednesday.

Granada was second to last, and Almeria, the only club in Europe’s top five leagues yet to win all season, was last.