FC Barcelona suffered their second defeat in LALIGA after going down 1-0 to Real Sociedad on Sunday night.
LALIGA
Result: Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona
Date: 10 November 2024
Venue: Reale Arena
The Catalan giants were without the services of Lamine Yamal through injury, as Fermin Lopez was handed a start while Jules Kounde and Frenkie de Jong were also recalled. In the end, Flick's charges were unable to find a way past the Sociedad defence and had to settle for their second loss of the campaign, which leaves the team six points ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.
The visitors had the ball in the back of the net after 14 minutes when Robert Lewandowski slotted home from close range, but the celebrations were cut short after the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) spotted an offside.
Hansi Flick's men continued to push for the opening goal but were let down by their finishing, especially Pedri who failed to hit the target on two occasions in the 18-yard area.
Barcelona were made to rue those misses as Sociedad took the lead in the 33rd minute as Luka Susic nodded the ball into the path of Sheraldo Becker, who calmly slotted home with only Inaki Pena to beat.
Flick responded with a change at the start of the second half, with De Jong making way in the midfield for Dani Olmo, who scored twice on his last league appearance.
However, it was Sociedad who nearly doubled their advantage early in the second period when Inigo Martinez's clearance landed at the feet of Mikel Oyarzabal, who saw his shot tipped over the crossbar.
It was more of the same as the second period continued as the Catalan giants struggled to create any clear-cut openings, with the attack looking out of ideas without Yamal on the bench.
