Barcelona suffer title blow as Real Sociedad battle to Aneota victory

Real Sociedad 2-1 Barcelona

Barcelona have lost for the third time since December, with 10-man Real Sociedad emerging as winners at Anoeta.

It was a frantic start to proceedings in Donostia-San Sebastian, with La Real denied a goal inside the opening seconds when Carlos Soler’s effort was ruled offside. Pedri almost went up the other end immediately to score, but he was denied by Alex Remiro .

On seven minutes, Barcelona had the ball in the net for the first time when Fermin Lopez fired in from 20 yards out, but after a VAR check, it was ruled that Dani Olmo had fouled Takefusa Kubo in the build-up to the goal. The Catalans would have two move efforts ruled out for offside, with Lamine Yamal and Frenkie de Jong also denied.

There was a lot of frustration among the Barcelona ranks after those moments, and that increased when La Real took the lead . Goncalo Guedes’ cross reached Mikel Oyarzabal , and the Spain striker followed past Joan Garcia to spark wild scenes among the home supporters.

Image via Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

Barcelona pushed back for an equaliser in the second half, and after two big chances were spurned by Dani Olmo , his replacement would find the back of the net. Lamine Yamal’s cross into the penalty area was headed home by Marcus Rashford , who finally managed to breach Remiro’s defence.

However, the Catalans were only level for mere seconds as La Real retook the lead . Garcia saved the initial effort, but after the ball was recycled, Carlos Soler found Guedes inside the area, and he finished on the half-volley.

Soler was sent off late on for a dangerous challenge on Pedri , but despite playing out the remaining minutes with 10 men, La Real held on for an excellent victory – their second in a row against Barcelona at Anoeta. For the Catalans, it means their lead at the top of La Liga is reduced to one point.