Yet another day in the office ends in victory for FC Barcelona as they completely thrash Real Sociedad. The Catalan giants were simply too much to handle for the opposition and it led to a rather one-sided match. However, this game was never supposed to be this straightforward for Barcelona.
Initially, it seemed likely that this could have turned out to be a cagier affair than it ended up being. That is because, much like the last time these two sides faced off, Imanol Alguacil’s side was prepared to stick to their tight man-marking that worked out last time around.
However, while Barcelona was gradually gaining momentum, the big shift came thanks to a brilliant play between Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo. Thanks to the latter’s agility and ingenuity, he made his way past the last Real Sociedad defender and the opponent had no option but to drag him and stop his run.
That led to a direct red card, and it completely ruined any and all outlets that Real Sociedad had for their man-marking tactic. With the team being a man down, the opposition tried to settle into a more defensive structure as midfielder Jon Olasagasti was brought off for defender Jon Martin.
However, that did not sway Barcelona in the slightest. They continued to pile on the pressure, and ended up grabbing a goal just a few minutes later thanks to a brilliant display of skill from Lamine Yamal, and a perfectly placed lobbed pass from Dani Olmo. However, it was still Gerard Martin’s well-executed strike that made sure that the chance would turn into a goal.
Yet again, just a few minutes later, Barça would make sure they increased their lead. Moreover, just like last time, it would be Dani Olmo who would be crucial to the goal, as his strike would ricochet off of Marc Casado and find itself into the back of the net.
By that point, Sociedad seemed to have no interest in attacking and tried to minimize any and all offensive chances that Barcelona could create. Unfortunately for them, the Catalan giants had no intention of stopping there.
In the second half, both Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski would also score for the home side. In a way, both players would unintentionally set each other up and help the other score. The Polish forward tried to head a corner from Raphinha that was parried away by the opposition goalkeeper but would then see Araujo head it into the goal.
Minutes later, the Uruguayan defender would take a shot from distance that would see its trajectory changed by Lewandowski’s intervention. With that goal, Barcelona would start to focus more on seeing the game out despite a few good chances still coming their way.
By the end of the game, Barcelona had 76% of possession and had 33 total shots while Real Sociedad had a grand total of zero. They also had 678 passes compared to Sociedad’s 163, and La Blaugrana also generated a solid 2.92 xG while the opposition had exactly zero, which aligns with their lack of attempts as well.
Now, with this win, Barcelona have reclaimed their top spot in La Liga from Atletico Madrid and are one point above them. They are now also three points above Real Madrid, and have a handy goal difference of +46 as well.
