La Liga - Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad - Match Report
Barca edge closer to the title following 2-1 win over Real Sociedad
Clement Lenglet scored his first goal for Barcelona as the Catalans took another step towards back-to-back titles with a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad.
The former Sevilla centre-back broke through on the stroke of half-time as Barca re-established a nine-point advantage over Atletico Madrid at the summit.
Ernesto Valverde's side were once again not at their fluent best but stepped up when required – Jordi Alba netting the 64th-minute winner as an instant response to Juanmi's equaliser for Imanol Alguacil's visitors.
If Barca win at Deportivo Alaves on Tuesday and Atleti do not do likewise against Valencia a day later, they will be crowned champions with four games to play.
Lionel Messi drew an early booking from La Real midfielder Mikel Merino and rippled the top of the netting with a 27th-minute free-kick.
Barca were indebted to goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen for a fabulous stop at close quarters from Juanmi, with Willian Jose blazing the rebound over.
Ter Stegen's opposite number Geronimo Rulli got down to his right to sharply deny Luis Suarez but had no chance when Lenglet peeled into space and superbly diverted Ousmane Dembele's corner into the net.
Valverde responded to Barca's sluggish resumption by sending on Sergio Busquets for Arthur, while Messi and Arturo Vidal combined for Dembele to sidefoot narrowly wide before the hour.
But the equaliser La Real deserved arrived in the 62nd minute, with Juanmi sliding Merino's delightful through ball past Ter Stegen.
Parity was short-lived as Alba cut inside and let fly with his weaker right foot, though – the goal surviving a VAR review after Dembele was deemed not to be interfering with play in an offside position.
Ivan Rakitic could have given Barca breathing space when he clattered into the side netting 11 minutes from time, by which point Sociedad's best work was behind them.
Goals/Highlights
Goal! Barcelona immediately hit back! Jordi Alba finds the bottom corner from just inside the penalty area! Barca lead 2-1!
Goal! Sociedad hit back, former Southampton attacker Juanmi times his run perfectly to score!
Goal! Clément Lenglet scores his first goal for Barcelona with a well taken glancing header on the stroke of half-time!
Live Updates
Preamble
Nothing to see here, Leo Messi casually warming up! He's on 597 career goals, will it be 600 by the end of the evening?
Now for Real Sociedad! Looks like Imanol Alguacil is going with a 4-2-3-1 formation. Keep an eye on winger Mikel Oyarzabal. The 21-year old has 12 goals this season and will be Sociedad's biggest attacking threat!
Team news time! First up Barcelona! Three changes to the side that beat Manchester United midweek! Sergi Roberto, Sergi Busquets & Phillipe Coutinho all make way. Nelson Samedo, Auturo Vidal & Ousmane Dembélé come into the side.
Confirmation of my red hot stats knowledge there!
So can Real Sociedad get the better of Barcelona? It looks unlikely, as Barcelona have won the last 20 (yes) 20 home games against Sociedad! However a weakened Barca did draw with bottom of the table Huesca last week, so anything is possible.
So another day, and yet another Messi milestone! Just three more and it's 600 career goals for the Argentinian maestro!
Good evening! Welcome to the Live Updates of Barcelona Vs Real Sociedad. After breezing through to the semi-finals of the Champions League, Barca will be looking to maintain their nine-point lead at the top of the table. As ever, join me for all the buildup from the big game, including team news match commentary and highlights from the game.