Barcelona welcomed Real Sociedad at the Nou Camp earlier tonight as they hoped to begin the new La Liga season with a win at home. The Catalan giants made a strong start to the game as they scored the opening goal in the 19th minute courtesy of Gerard Pique’s headed goal. Martin Braithwaite doubled Barca’s advantage just moments before the half-time break with a good header.
It was Braithwaite who struck again in the 59th minute as he found the back of the net with a tidy finish. However, Sociedad tried to mount a late comeback through goals from Julen Lobete and Mikel Oyarzabal but Sergi Roberto killed the game off with his injury-time goal. The contest ended with Ronald Koeman’s side securing an impressive 4-2 victory at Catalonia.
Let’s take a look at how each Barcelona player performed during the clash against Real Sociedad.
GK: Neto – 6/10
The Barca keeper didn’t have much to do for a lot of the contest but won’t be happy after conceding two late goals.
RB: Sergiño Dest – 7/10
He kept a good shape at the back and made a couple of promising dashes down the right flank.
CB: Eric Garcia – 7/10
The Spaniard cleared his lines when needed and even blocked a couple of shots before he was replaced in the 82nd minute.
CB: Gerard Pique – 7.5/10
Pique opened the goal-scoring with a good header and made a couple of important interceptions at the back as well.
LB: Jordi Alba – 7.5/10
The Spanish full-back won the ball back quite a few times for his side and was lively in the opposition half.
CM: Frenkie de Jong – 7/10
De Jong helped Barca control the midfield battle and ended the game with an assist to his name.
CM: Sergio Busquets – 6.5/10
Busquets anchored the midfield effectively but struggled to create any real chances in the final third.
CM: Pedri – 7/10
The Spanish youngster hardly gave away the ball but failed to cut open the Sociedad defence.
RW: Antoine Griezmann – 7/10
The French attacker was a constant threat in the opponent’s half and was unfortunate not to have gotten his name on the scoresheet.
ST: Memphis Depay – 8/10
The Dutch forward caused all kinds of problems for the Sociedad centre-halves with his clever movement and creativity. He picked up an assist for setting up Pique’s opener.
LW: Martin Braithwaite – 9.5/10
Braithwaite produced an outstanding display in the final third as he scored two goals and grabbed one assist to make the difference for the Catalan outfit.
Substitutes:
RB: Emerson Royal – 6/10
He added some energy to Barca’s defence.
CM: Sergi Roberto – 7/10
Roberto came off the bench to score a late injury-time goal which ensured all three points for Barca.
CB: Ronald Araujo – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
CM: Nico Gonzalez – N/A
The youngster didn’t get enough minutes to warrant a rating.
CB: Clement Lenglet – N/A
Lenglet came on to offer some added protection in the dying embers of the game.
