Barcelona were 4-1 winners over Real Sociedad in their LaLiga clash on Sunday at the Reale Arena.
Substitute Ansu Fati was the hero as he assisted two goals and grabbed one himself.
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The Catalans had started brightly as the birthday boy, Robert Lewandowski put them ahead in the 44th second. Alex Balde had burst forward before supplying a pass to Lewandowski who slotted into a tight corner to give his side a very early lead.
Before long, Sociedad levelled after Gavi’s sliding tackle helped Alexander Isak’s shot to beat Marc-Andre Ter Stegen in the Barcelona goal. Frenkie De Jong had been dispossessed in the build-up to the attack.
Sociedad would trouble the Barca defence again as Mikel Merino’s shot forced a save from Ter Stegen and Take Kubo driving the rebound wide.
David Silva again tested Ter Stegen in goal in the 43rd minute but the German gave a good account of himself.
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Barcelona responded in the 45th minute with Gavi chasing a lobbed pass but could not reach it before Sociedad’s goalkeeper, Alex Remiro. Lewandowski was close to scoring the second on his birthday but headed straight into Remiro’s gloves before the half-time whistle was blown by referee Jose Munuera in the 47th minute.
Real Sociedad thought they had taken the lead in the 52nd minute when Brais Mendez’s free-kick floated into the net. The goal was ruled out for offside as an offside player was interfering in the play. The decision by both the Video Assistant Referee and Munuera forced boos to ring out from the home side’s fans.
Barca were almost gifted a goal when Aritz Elustondo’s calamitous throw-in in the 54th minute found Gavi, who could not bury the chance as Remiro was quick to gather the ball.
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Lewandowski was again in action as he received Raphinha’s pass but drove his effort straight at Remiro in goal.
Ousmane Dembele, who escaped being sent off after he appeared to elbow his marker, received Ansu Fati’s backheel pass in the Sociedad area before slotting past Remiro in the 66th minute.
Ansu Fati, who came on in the 64th minute for Ferran Torres, continued to pull the strings as he orchestrated a brilliant move between him and Gavi before his pass found Lewandowski, who scored to give Barcelona a two-goal lead in the 68th minute.
The 19-year-old Ansu Fati then got on the scoresheet himself in the 78th minute after his good control from Lewandowski’s rebounded backheel pass.
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The win takes Barcelona to fifth on the table while Sociedad are 10th. Villarreal lead the table with six points while Real Madrid are second on goal difference.
In other matches played on Sunday in the LaLiga, Villarreal defeated Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano 2-1 while Athletic Bilbao beat Valencia 1-0.
