Sunday, February 23, 2014 photo by AFP
Real Sociedad 3 - Barcelona 1
Barcelona’s title challenge was dealt a shuddering blow as Tata Martino’s side was beaten 3-1 by a rampant Real Sociedad.
The Basque side battered Barca for much of the game, with goals from Gorka Elustondo, Antoine Griezmann and David Zurutuza cancelling out Lionel Messi’s first half equaliser to give La Real all three points.
The defeat leaves Barcelona three points adrift of title rivals Real Madrid, with Atletico Madrid set to play Osasuna on Sunday.
Martino made six changes to the side that beat Manchester City in the Champions League during the week, with Neymar coming into the line-up and Alex Song starting alongside Sergio Busquets in midfield.
Sociedad were lively from the start and took the lead after 32 minutes, when Elustondo’s header from a wicked Sergio Canales cross took a touch off Alex Song on its way into the Barca net.
However, the Liga champions responded almost immediately, with Messi lashing into the bottom corner after good build-up play by Dani Alves and Sergio Busquets on the edge of the box.
Yet it was Sociedad who took the lead again, when Griezmann finished off a rapid counter-attacking move, with Carlos Vela setting up the Frenchman for a simple conversion.
And Sociedad found the net again when Zurutuza nipped in to flick Griezmann’s chipped cross into the penalty area over the hesitant Valdes.
The home side continued to cause Barcelona problems, with Gerard Pique and Marc Bartra struggling to cope with the pace of the Sociedad front three. Vela came within inches of making it 4-1 as he fired a shot off the base of the post.
With time running out Barca pressed for a way back into the game but Sociedad’s well-organized defence held firm for a famous victory.
Eurosport
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