Barcelona beat Real Sociedad thanks to a goal by Aubameyang. But its defence was hurting

Three days after the surprising loss to Cadiz, Barcelona travelled to Real Sociedad in the 33rd round of La Liga. The Catalan big club wanted to atone for two previous setbacks in the Europa League and the top Spanish competition. It also needs to pick up points in the fight for the Champions League. The home team is also aiming to qualify for the European Cup, and before the game they were holding sixth place, guaranteeing Europa Conference qualification.

Barcelona went into the lead relatively early. First Dembélé hit the bar in the 11th minute, then Torres found Aubameyang with a curve in the small area and he headed the ball into the net. Although the Blaugranas had less possession in the first half, they took ten shots. Real Sociedad registered three attempts. Ferrán Torres on one side and Alexander Sorloth on the other had chances, but no more goals were scored in the opening forty-five minutes.

Less than ten minutes into the second half, stopper Araujo was injured and had to be replaced by Eric García in the centre of Barcelona’s defence. It wasn’t long before the first big chance of the second act came when Sorloth failed to beat ter Stegen in the whitewash.

In the 66th minute, Xavi had to once again resort to the composition of the defence. Due to an injury, Dani Alves finished early and was replaced by Sergiño Dest. And a quarter of an hour later, the third change was made to the visitors’ back line. Gerard Piqué left the field of play, having also dealt with some health problems during the match. He was joined on the bench by goal scorer Aubameyang. The place was left to Lenglet and Luuk de Jong.

There weren’t many chances in the second half. Due to the frequent treatment of players and a moment when the referee dealt with a glass object thrown onto the pitch by a fan, ten minutes of extra time were set. However, apart from the moment when Real Sociedad vainly demanded a penalty, there were no more dramatic situations.

Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen was named player of the match, with five of the home side’s shots going in. In total, Real Sociedad, who played with the ball 55% of the time, sent in eight shots. Barça benefited from a single shot heading between the three posts. The total number of attempts stopped at 11.

Barcelona is in second place with 63 points, Real Sociedad in sixth with 55. In the 34th round, the team from San Sebastian plays at Vallecano, while the Catalans will play Mallorca at home. Before that, however, they still have a Sunday match in Round 21 against their last rival.

Source: La Liga, Livesport