Barcelona secured a dominant 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday, reclaiming the top spot in La Liga after a commanding performance at the Spotify Camp Nou. An early red card for Sociedad’s Aritz Elustondo gave Hansi Flick’s side a significant advantage, allowing Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo and Robert Lewandowski to find the net in a comfortable win.
Atletico Madrid had temporarily knocked the Catalans off their perch with a win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, while Real Madrid lost further ground in the title race with a defeat at Real Betis. Flick made several rotations ahead of Barcelona’s Champions League last-16 trip to Benfica on Wednesday but still managed to move one point ahead of Atletico.
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Real Sociedad, sitting ninth, started brightly but fell victim to Barcelona’s offside trap, with Sergio Gomez’s goal ruled out early on. Barcelona playmaker Pedri Gonzalez nearly capitalized on a mistake from Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro, but his deflection landed just over the net. The game’s defining moment came in the 17th minute when Elustondo was sent off for pulling down Dani Olmo, who was racing through on goal.
Barcelona took advantage quickly, opening the scoring eight minutes later when Olmo floated a cross to Martin, who fired home his first-ever senior goal. Four minutes later, Olmo was involved again—his wayward shot deflecting off Casado and into the net for Barcelona’s second. The young Lamine Yamal continued to impress, setting up Pedri, whose shot from the edge of the box was saved. Pedri came even closer after halftime, rattling the crossbar from distance.
Shortly after, Araujo made it 3-0, reacting quickest after Remiro parried Lewandowski’s header from a corner. Lewandowski then wrapped up the scoring with a clever finish, diverting Araujo’s low drive past the goalkeeper. The 36-year-old now leads the La Liga scoring charts with 21 goals in 25 appearances.
Barcelona controlled the final 30 minutes without much trouble, though substitute Ferran Torres came close to adding a fifth goal twice. Real Sociedad defender Javi Lopez admitted the red card changed the course of the game.
Elsewhere, Valencia salvaged a 3-3 draw at Osasuna, thanks to a stunning backheel volley from Umar Sadiq in the 87th minute. The Nigerian striker scored twice to earn his side a valuable point in the relegation battle. Valencia, now 18th, sit one point above Alaves, who drew 1-1 at Mallorca earlier in the day. In another crucial result, Leganes (16th) edged Getafe 1-0, moving three points clear of the drop zone.
Barcelona now shift focus to their Champions League last-16 first leg against Benfica on Wednesday, as they look to continue their pursuit of silverware across all competitions.
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