Real Sociedad 2 : 1 Zaragoza - Aranburu the hero for Sociedad

Mikel Aranburu struck a last-gasp winner as a 2-1 victory ensured Real Sociedad took a massive step towards Primera Division survival and left Real Zaragoza still deep in trouble in the relegation zone.

Zaragoza, who would have climbed out of the bottom three with a point, looked set to earn a draw after captain Gabi cancelled out Raul Tamudo's first-half opener for Sociedad.

But there was to be a late twist in the tale as, in the 88th minute, Aranburu saw his shot deflected in to earn Sociedad the spoils.

The result saw Sociedad, last season's Segunda Division champions, move five points clear of Zaragoza and the relegation zone with two games remaining.

Zaragoza, meanwhile, remained a point behind 17th-placed Getafe, who lost 4-0 at Real Madrid last night.

Sociedad had an early Tamudo effort ruled out for offside but the veteran striker was celebrating a legitimate goal in the 24th minute.

Zaragoza goalkeeper Antonio Doblas' punt forward was headed back over the visiting defence by Diego Rivas and Tamudo beat the out-rushing Doblas to the loose ball before sliding a shot past two covering Zaragoza defenders into an open net.

That was the score at half-time but Zaragoza spurned a great chance to equalise soon after the restart when Ikechukwu Uche got in behind the Sociedad defence but dragged his left-footed shot wide of the far post with just Claudio Bravo to beat.

Sociedad were not so fortunate two minutes later though when Zaragoza equalised through Gabi, who curled in his eighth goal of the season direct from a free-kick just outside the area.

Zaragoza missed another great chance in the 68th minute when the spinning Ander Herrera failed to find an open goal, while at the other end Antoine Griezmann and Diego Ifran both went close for Sociedad as both teams sought a winner.

That match looked destined for a draw, but with time running out Sociedad snatched a late winner when Aranburu latched onto a half-cleared corner on the edge of the box and fired in a volley that was deflected past a wrong-footed substitute Zaragoza goalkeeper Leo Franco.