Barcelona was hoping for a turnaround as they travelled to San Sebastián to face Real Sociedad after drawing 0-0 in their La Liga debut.
Just 44 seconds into the game, Robert Lewandowski scored the game’s first goal as the birthday boy attempted to lead the rebound. However, the first 45 minutes of play generally lacked fluidity. Real Sociedad pounced on Barcelona’s weaknesses and quickly replied to tie the score through Alexander Isak after the team had displayed a number of areas of disarray.
Real Sociedad missed a shot after the break, but the long Barcelona bench turned the tide of the game in Xavi’s favour. Young Ansu Fati was substituted on by Barcelona’s manager from his deep bench, and in just five minutes, the wide player was a game-changer, producing two rapid assists.
Ousmane Dembele scored the eventual game-winning goal just beyond the hour mark, and Fati assisted Lewandowski with his second two minutes later. Then, as the icing on the cake, Lewandowski switched roles, assisting Fati for Barcelona’s fourth goal 11 minutes from time with a beautiful back-heel assist.
Barcelona now has four points from their first two games, which is a considerable improvement from their season-opening performance. Takefusa Kubo and David Silva both had excellent scoring chances in the first half, but instead squandered them, leaving Real Sociedad to rue their numerous wasted opportunities.
