One of those nights where the margins decide everything, and the response matters more than the result.
FC Barcelona left San Sebastián with a defeat that matters in the standings and feels worse than most. The 2-1 loss to Real Sociedad ends an 11-game winning run and trims the lead over Real Madrid to a single point. That part is the part that hurts, and it cannot be softened. But behind the bad result, the game was actually encouraging in a lot of ways.
Because this did not look like a team losing its way. It looked like a game that slipped through its fingers.
Three Barcelona goals were ruled out. A penalty was given and then taken away. Dani Olmo hit the post twice in the same sequence. Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski rattled the frame as well. Alex Remiro was outstanding, producing saves that kept Real Sociedad alive long enough to punish the smallest errors. And the numbers back up the eye test. Barcelona finished with around 3.67 expected goals, and that’s not counting disallowed goals or penalties. Meanwhile, Real Sociedad had 1.01 – to be fair with one disallowed goal, too. But the point is: those figures usually point to a very different outcome.
La Real did what good home sides do on nights like this. They stayed compact, waited, and were clinical when the chance appeared. Mikel Oyarzabal’s opener came from one well-timed movement at the back post. Barcelona eventually equalized through Marcus Rashford, only to concede again almost immediately after failing to clear a second ball in the box. That sequence deserves criticism. It was sloppy and costly. But it was also brief, not structural.
The refereeing inevitably became part of the story. Fermín López saw an early goal ruled out for a foul in the buildup. Lamine Yamal had another disallowed after a marginal offside call involving Jules Koundé. A penalty awarded late in the first half was overturned when VAR judged Yamal to be offside in the phase before contact.
Some games feel familiar for the wrong reasons. The one this brought to mind was Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Disallowed goals. Tight offsides. A sense of disbelief that a winning streak was cut short. It wasn’t anywhere as big of a shock, because La Real are 8th and are four matches unbeaten in La Liga, but it’s that kind of vibe. In that case, Argentina somehow bounced back once the belief came back. They were rattled to the core, but they did not buckle. Barcelona’s case is even less dire, and they should brush it off with much more ease.
Hansi Flick’s team is not flawless. The defensive vulnerability after scoring is real, and the trip to Anoeta exposed it again. But the bigger picture remains intact. The attack is creating chances at an elite rate. Lamine Yamal keeps bending games in Barcelona’s favor. And if they have self belief, they can go far this season.
Football has nights where logic takes a back seat, and this was one of them. The defeat hurts because of the loss of points, but the way the match was played wasn’t too far off the ideal. Change the finishing, move a few VAR lines by centimeters, and this reads as another statement win.
The worst response now would be doubt. The right one is to keep going, fix the details, and trust that performances like this usually reward you more often than they punish you.
Category: General Sports
