Barcelona clashed heads with Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena earlier tonight as they looked to earn their first victory of this La Liga campaign. The Catalan giants made a dream start to the game as they scored in the first minute courtesy of Robert Lewandowski’s tidy finish. However, Alexander Isak equalised for the home side just five minutes later to make it 1-1. Both sides went into the half-time break with a 1-1 scoreline.
Barca were by far the superior team in the second half as they regained their lead in the 66th minute via Ousmane Dembele’s goal. Lewandowksi made it 3-1 to the Catalan outfit just two minutes later before Ansu Fati killed the game off in the 79th minute with a cool finish. The contest ended with Barcelona securing a dominant 4-1 win on the road.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player performed during the clash against Real Sociedad.
GK: Marc-André ter Stegen – 6.5/10
The Barca keeper made a few crucial saves at the back but won’t be pleased after letting in an early goal.
CB: Ronald Araujo – 6.5/10
He was strong in the air and got stuck in with a few solid tackles to make life tough for the home team.
CB: Andreas Christensen – 6.5/10
Christensen earned possession back a couple of times and made a handful of important clearances on the defensive end of the field.
CB: Eric Garcia – 6.5/10
The Spaniard kept things tidy at the back and was quite accurate with his passing.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 7/10
He anchored the midfield with conviction and created a couple of inviting chances in the final third.
CM: Gavi – 7/10
Gavi made two interceptions at the centre of the park and managed to engineer a couple of decent opportunities for his teammates to score.
RM: Ousmane Dembele – 7.5/10
He was a constant menace in the final third and scored the all-important second goal for Barca in the 66th minute.
RAM: Pedri – 8/10
Pedri tracked back to defend when needed and made a few dangerous runs with the ball in the Sociedad half.
LAM: Ferran Torres – 6/10
The Spaniard struggled to get into the flow of the game and got replaced in the 63rd minute.
LM: Alejandro Balde – 6.5/10
Balde created two good chances from the left flank but could last only 63 minutes.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 8.5/10
The Polish striker scored a goal in both halves to win the game for the Catalan club. He looked like a real threat tonight which will please Xavi.
Substitutes:
LM: Ansu Fati – 8.5/10
Fati made an instant impact off the bench as he created two goals before going on to score himself.
RM: Raphinha – 6/10
He made one good run with the ball.
LB: Jordi Alba – 6/10
The Spanish full-back kept things solid at the back.
CM: Sergi Roberto – N/A
He didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
CM: Franck Kessie – N/A
Kessie came on for the final few minutes of the contest.
