Aston Villa rounded off their pre-season schedule with a 4-2 defeat to Real Sociedad at the Pallet-Track Bescot Stadium in Walsall on July 28, 2026, according to BirminghamLive. It was Villa's third friendly of a summer that has mixed promise with defensive concern.

The run started brightly. On July 21, Villa hammered local neighbours Walsall 5-0 in a friendly at the Bescot, with BBC Sport reporting that Brian Madjo scored twice inside the opening half (BBC Sport). George Hemmings was also on the scoresheet, per the official AVFC match report. A clean sheet, five goals, and young players grabbing their chance — the kind of night that gets a fanbase through the door feeling good about the weeks ahead.

Then the level went up. Villa travelled to face Portuguese giants FC Porto and lost 2-1, according to the official Aston Villa match report. That result, against Champions League-calibre opposition, is the sort of defeat that tells a manager more than a 5-0 win ever could — where the gaps are, who can handle the step up, what still needs tightening before the real thing starts.

Real Sociedad were next, and the Basque club's official website had confirmed the fixture back in June, scheduling it for July 28 at 19:30 local time in Walsall. The match was available to follow live via RSTV, Real Sociedad's own television channel, as noted on their site. For BirminghamLive, Bizot was named in Villa's starting eleven — a signal that the goalkeeper, who joined the club last summer, is firmly in the manager's plans for the campaign ahead.

The final score, a 4-2 loss to Real Sociedad per BirminghamLive, means Villa concede six goals across their two toughest pre-season tests. Pre-season results are not league results, and no one pretends they are. But the pattern — fluent going forward, porous at the back — is the kind of thing a coaching staff will have flagged before the players even left the pitch.

For fans, the summer has offered a glimpse of what is coming. Madjo's double against Walsall suggests a young striker with an eye for goal. The Porto and Real Sociedad matches showed where the ceiling is and where the floor might be. The Premier League season will settle the rest. Villa's friendly programme is done. The work that counts starts next.