A win tonight and Barca would jump back into second place above Girona.
Their roadblock? A tough Real Sociedad side that, while it hasn’t been as good as their 2022-2023 selves, still possesses loads of talent that can cause problems.
How did Barca fare?
Let’s find out.
First half
The first half was a little boring for a while.
Barca tried to create chances and they did create some, but Sociedad opened the match in a back 5, complicating Barca’s approach attacking wise.
So it was up to Barca to either carefully break Sociedad’s block down or ping balls in hopes of someone getting a touch and allowing Barca to set up camp further up the pitch.
Therefore cutting the difficulty of their build up in half.
Barca struggled to truly find their footing though and as the first half went on, it felt like Barca would have to take advantage of a mistake or two to open up this defense once and for all.
And that’s what happened as we got towards halftime, well sort of. In reality, it was some brilliant play by Robert Lewandowski, springing Ilkay Gundogan through with a nice slicing ball.
Then Gundogan laid it off to Lamine Yamal, who shot it first time into the back of the net.
Nice move from all parties involved.
Halftime arrived soon after, with Barca holding a slim 1-0 lead, but in control nonetheless.
How did they fare in the second half?
Second half
The second half was a bit of a blur.
Barca did create some more chances, but as usual, they flunked them in ways that only made you bow your head in disappointment. It’a s shame too, because this isn’t even a chance creating problem, it’s just an IQ problem in the final third.
Add in the fact that this has been an ongoing problem this season and you begin to get frustrated a little more.
Aside from that, there wasn’t much that went on.
Sociedad couldn’t create enough chances and Barca were more than happy to sit on the ball and pass it around. It didn’t make for the most exciting football, but Barca was simply taking what they were being given, so you can’t be too mad at them.
There was one more goal to be scored and it was scored by none other than Raphinha. It wasn’t an open play one, but instead a penalty after a pretty obvious handball by a Sociedad defender.
Pretty pen too.
Lots of power, far right bottom corner, you can’t do much better than that.
It was a deserved goal for Raphinha as well, since his performance throughout the match was deserving of one. Double digit goal contributions for him in his second straight season at the club, very good numbers for a player that’s quickly becoming underrated within the squad.
That pen pretty much ended the match as well, giving Barca a 2-0 win.
Final word
Not a bad match for Barca, but not an overly positive one either.
They created the best chances, but fell short at converting on the most of them, leaving the match in a queasy balance for the majority of the contest. It was good to see Raphinha and Yamal get some goals they rightly deserved, especially the latter, who has real come on strong for Barca over the last few months.
One of the big negatives though was the lack of playing time for Vitor Roque once again. I still don’t understand why he hasn’t received minutes, especially during game settings that ask for his specific skill set, but what can I expect from a club that’s constantly in its own circus?
Anyways, that’s about it, 3 more matchdays in La Liga for Barca, let’s see if they can close the season out strong.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be on Thursday night against Almeria.
See you all then!
I’ve been a big time Barca fan since I was 14 years old. I love the club, the history, and the tradition that the club has built over its prestigious history. Forca Barca!
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