Three takeaways from Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona | La Liga | OneFootball

A lot was said about the bizarre goal difference between Barcelona and Real Sociedad ahead of last night’s clash at Reale Arena. The former, after all, are La Liga’s top-scoring side while the latter had recorded the least goals in the league.

A parallel script, however, was around their comparable defensive record where the Basque side narrowly edged Barcelona. That, in the end, was ironically the deciding factor.

Hansi Flick’s side struggled to break down La Real’s defence throughout the 90 minutes and were outplayed in largely all aspects of the game. The only goal came from Sheraldo Becker in the 33rd minute and that proved to be decisive.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona.

Humbled at last

A periodic reality check is necessary for every team, even Europe’s most dominant forces and last night provided exactly that for Barcelona. After all, it highlighted multiple deep-seated problems and matters that need to be addressed.

Sunday night’s performance was underwhelming from the Catalans across the field. The defence looked leakier than usual while the likes of Pedri in midfield looked relatively exhausted.

Even the attackers Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski were far from their influential best in the final third and looked rather fatigued and the observation draws serious attention to whether Flick’s system is sustainable in the long run.

With the new dynamics demanding a lot from the players physically, it is not easy to sustain the same level week in and week out for the entire season and the fact that players like De Jong and Lewandowski left limping confirms that fear.

Sunday can well to dismissed as an off night for the entire team and there may not be much to read into as the two-week hiatus may serve them well. Credit where it is due, however, Real Sociedad were very impressive with their play.

La Real pressed relentlessly for 90 minutes, stopping Barcelona from having any kind of momentum or grip on the game. Lamine Yamal’s absence only helped them as Barcelona’s counter-attacking threat was significantly reduced.

On the ball, their play was sublime as they slipped through the high defensive line with ease and beat the offside trap with precisely timed runs from the second line.

Real Sociedad’s performance last night will serve as a template for all teams facing Barcelona here on. Flick did not have the answers yesterday but must conjure solutions soon.

The VAR tragedy strikes

Lewandowski had a clear goal ruled out. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

VAR had been very kind to Barcelona up until last night’s clash, continually ruling out opposition goals rightly for offside with little to no controversy. Just when it was appearing to be too good to be true, tragedy struck and the Blaugrana’s nemesis struck tragically.

Lewandowski’s goal last night will be talked about for the months to come given the match situation, the final result and the atrocious call that was made despite the presence of semi-automated VAR and it is clear that no amount of technology can ensure 100% precision.

The Polish striker initially opened the scoring in the first half with a well-worked finish and celebrated the goal rightfully. In fact, Barcelona took the goal for granted and even the replay showed him to be clearly onside.

The semi-automated VAR, however, misread the defender’s foot to be Lewandowski’s and deemed him to be offside from a position where he was clearly onside, denying Barcelona the lead.

Had the visitors scored first, the story could well have taken a different turn. After all, they were looking good until that point in time.

Undoing of the advantage

Barcelona earned a hard-fought and solid six-point lead over Real Madrid two matchdays ago playing in El Clasico and winning at Santiago Bernabeu.

All of that went to vain last night as the Catalans dropped three full points and were unable to even salvage a draw against Real Sociedad.

For all their positive showings in La Liga this season, Barcelona have dropped points purely in losses and their two defeats are equivalent to three draws.

Their lead over Los Blancos is now reduced to a mere six points. Considering that the arch-rivals have a game in hand, moreover, it could boil down to just three points.

Nevertheless, the Barcelona fans will hope that Flick can identify the issue and come back with better dynamics in the next game.