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Saturday, September 15, 2018

LA LIGA SPAIN 2018: Real Sociedad 1-2 Barcelona: Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele spark comeback to retain top spot in La Liga for Catalan giants



  • Barcelona came from behind to keep their unbeaten run going in La Liga and collect another three points 
  • Real Sociedad opened the scoring courtesy of a sublime volley from defender Aritz Elustondo 
  • Luis Suarez pulled a goal back for Barca, before Ousmane Dembele added a second to secure three points 
  • The Catalan giants have 12 points from four games played so far this season in La Liga 
Two clangers from Real Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli helped Barcelona overcame an awful first half to beat Real Sociedad 2-1.
Luis Suarez, who got the first goal in Barcelona's comeback said: ‘You win the league with these types of performances. It was the same last season here when we went behind but came back to win the game.’
If winning the title is all about taking three points when the team is below par this was certainly an example of that. Real Sociedad will wonder how they managed to take nothing from this match.
Defender Aritz Elustondo gave Real Sociedad a shock lead after lashing home a sublime volley in the opening stages
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Defender Aritz Elustondo gave Real Sociedad a shock lead after lashing home a sublime volley in the opening stages
Aritz was mobbed by his team-mates after putting Sociedad ahead against the league leaders and reigning champions
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Aritz was mobbed by his team-mates after putting Sociedad ahead against the league leaders and reigning champions
The home fans rallied behind their team in hope of pushing them on for an unexpected victory and crucial three points
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The home fans rallied behind their team in hope of pushing them on for an unexpected victory and crucial three points
Lionel Messi cut a dejected figure as Barca went into the half-time interval trailing 1-0 to their opponents
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Lionel Messi cut a dejected figure as Barca went into the half-time interval trailing 1-0 to their opponents

MATCH FACTS

BARCELONA XI: Ter Stegen, Semedo, Pique, Rakitic, Suarez, Messi, Dembele, Rafinha, Jordi Alba, Roberto, Umtiti
GOALS: Suarez, Dembele 
SOCIEDAD XI: Gero Rulli, Zladua, Illarra, Zubeidia, Moreno, Juanmi, Oyarzabal, Pardo, Aritz, Zurutuza, Theo
GOAL: Aritz 
Barcelona fell behind when Aritz Elustondo drove home after Hector Moreno had beaten Nelson Semedo in the air to nod down a free-kick. Three sides of Anoeta errupted including the goal that Real Sociedad were kicking into. 
Behind the other goal the club are still completing building work that has seen them finally eliminate the running track around the pitch. With the supporters closer to the players the atmosphere was good and the home team were suitably buoyed. Barcelona, meanwhile, were awful.
Lionel Messi made 31 touches in the first half but none of them were in the Real Sociedad penalty area. Suarez chased down defenders but team-mates rarely joined him in the press as the champions looked to have not come back from the international break.
Philippe Coutinho replaced Rafinha at half time but things got no better at the restart. Pique put the ball straight out for a corner when he was trying to pass it back to Marc Andre ter Stegen.
Luis Suarez was starved of service but battled away to take any opportunity to get his side back into the contest
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Luis Suarez was starved of service but battled away to take any opportunity to get his side back into the contest
The former Liverpool man's resilience finally paid off after he converted a close-range effort to pull Barcelona level
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The former Liverpool man's resilience finally paid off after he converted a close-range effort to pull Barcelona level
Busquets had to come on ten minutes into the second half when there was still no improvement. Lionel Messi crossed but Dembele headed tamely wide on the hour to sum up Barcelona’s lack of effectiveness in front of goal.
Real Sociedad then had three superb chances to double their lead and they wasted them all. The first chance to score fell to Mikel Oyarzabal who raced clear but could not finish past Marc Andre ter Stegen.
With their next attack it was Theo Hernandez who sprinted away from his left back position. He looked offside but the flag stayed down. He wasted the chance shooting straight at Ter Stegen when he was one-on-one with the goalkeeper.
And then Ter Stegen pulled off the third goal-saving save from Juanmi Jiménez.
No team can expect to waste so many chances and still come away with something and predictably Barcelona scored from their next attack.
Gerard Pique headed a corner back across the face of the Real Sociedad goal and with keeper Rulli flapping at the ball under pressure from Ousmane Dembele, Suarez was able to convert into an empty net.
Ousmane Dembele added a second for Barca after losing his marker and hitting a low effort from the edge of the area
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Ousmane Dembele added a second for Barca after losing his marker and hitting a low effort from the edge of the area
The Frenchman's goal was enough for Barca to hold on to and go on to see out the victory and extend their unbeaten run
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The Frenchman's goal was enough for Barca to hold on to and go on to see out the victory and extend their unbeaten run
The 1-1 scoreline soon became 2-1 to Barcelona and again Rulli was at fault as the visitors took the lead. Again he came for a high ball and punched instead of catching it. 
The ball went straight out to Dembele and with the keeper now grounded and the goal unmanned, the French winger drilled the ball back towards the goal, and taking touches off of Igor Zubeldia and Ruben Pardo it found its way into the back of the net.
Still the chances came for Real Sociedad and still they managed to miss them. Former Southampton forward Juanmi missed another opportunity with a header that went wide doing an injustice to Mikel Merino’s superb pass to send him clear.
Real Sociedad had the chances to win this game twice over but they had failed to get the better of Ter Stegen and with Rulli less than assured at the other end it was Barcelona who took all three points.
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By Pete Jenson for MailOnline

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