Barcelona delivered a dominant performance on Sunday, securing a 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad to reclaim the top spot in La Liga. The match took a decisive turn early on when Real Sociedad’s Aritz Elustondo received a red card, leaving his team with ten men for most of the game.
With the numerical advantage, Hansi Flick’s team controlled the match, scoring four goals through Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo, and Robert Lewandowski. This win helped Barcelona bounce back to the top after Atletico Madrid had briefly overtaken them following their victory against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. Meanwhile, Real Madrid, currently in third place, suffered a defeat at Real Betis.
The game started with Real Sociedad looking dangerous in attack, but their efforts were cut short by Barcelona’s well-organized defense. Sociedad’s Sergio Gomez thought he had given his team an early lead, but his goal was ruled offside.
On the other end, Barcelona’s Pedri Gonzalez came close to scoring when he pressed goalkeeper Alex Remiro, deflecting a clearance just over the net. However, the match shifted dramatically in the 17th minute when Elustondo pulled down Dani Olmo, who was making a run towards goal. The referee immediately showed a red card, reducing Sociedad to ten men.
Barcelona quickly took advantage of their superior numbers. In the 25th minute, Olmo delivered a well-placed cross to Gerard Martin, who fired home his first-ever goal for Barcelona. Just four minutes later, Barcelona doubled their lead when Olmo’s shot deflected off Marc Casado and into the net, making it 2-0.
After halftime, Barcelona continued to dominate. Pedri nearly extended the lead with a long-range shot that struck the crossbar. The third goal finally arrived when Ronald Araujo reacted quickly to a rebound after Remiro had saved Lewandowski’s header from a corner.
The final goal came through Lewandowski, who showed his experience by guiding Araujo’s powerful strike into the net. The Polish striker now leads the league with 21 goals in 25 matches.
