Real Sociedad delivered a major blow today, January 18, at their Anoeta Stadium, defeating Barcelona 2–1 at home in a match corresponding to Match day 20 of LaLiga.
The slip-up by the Blaugrana opens the door for Real Madrid to move into first place in the standings, intensifying an already tight battle at the top of the table.
The San Sebastián side took the lead in the 32nd minute with a goal from Mikel Oyarzabal, who finished after an assist from Gonçalo Guedes.
In the second half, Guedes extended the lead in the 71st minute after receiving a pass from Carlos Soler.
Barcelona had managed a brief equalizer in the 70th minute through Marcus Rashford, assisted by Lamine Yamal, but the effort was not enough to overturn the scoreline.
Disallowed goals were a major talking point in the match. Real Sociedad had an early goal by Oyarzabal ruled out, while Barcelona saw goals from Fermín López, Frenkie de Jong, and Lamine Yamal disallowed.
From a disciplinary standpoint, both teams received three yellow cards each, while Carlos Soler was sent off for Real Sociedad.
Barcelona dominated large stretches of the game and created numerous chances through Frenkie de Jong, Lamine Yamal, Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski, Jules Koundé, and Marcus Rashford. Their shots hit the posts and the crossbar, from both close range and long distance, but lacked the finishing touch.
With this result, Barcelona remains on 49 points, closely followed by Real Madrid with 48, while Villarreal sit third with 41 points.
