Real Sociedad vs Barcelona

Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona hope to put a frustrating opening weekend behind them as they travel north to meet Real Sociedad in the second match of La ...

Look for a hungry Barcelona front line to feast as they endeavor to get off the mark, and Robert Lewandowski should open his La Liga account. Dest has been left out of the squad for both La Liga matches to start the season. Full-back Sergino Dest was left out of the squad for the second straight match as manager Xavi looks set to force the American out. His deflected pass to Isak was deposited into the back of the net from a tight angle. That sees Aihen Munoz in at left-back to replace the injured man. Lewandowski will have a point to prove today against La Real, else questions start to creep in whether he made the right decision leaving his former Bavarian side. There's a stoppage as Aihen Munoz flops to the turf on a flailing arm from Ousmane Dembele, but it's all a bit dramatic, and VAR takes no action. This is real trouble for Barcelona who are on the cusp of conceding more good chances. They are both vociferously relaying instructions to their players, and the game has devolved into a midfield chess match. It's a poor effort from the Spanish veteran, but it's only kept out by a glittering stop. La Real got off to a winning start last weekend as they beat promoted side Cadiz 1-0 thanks to a debut goal from former Real Madrid winger Takefusa Kubo. Despite an impressive preseason and a host of new attacking additions at their disposal, the Blaugrana were blanked at home against Rayo Vallecano in a 0-0 draw last week.

WELCOME TO THE REALE STADIUM!!! The Cauldron of Anoeta in the Basque Country is the site of a huge La Liga clash between Real Sociedad and Barcelona, ...

This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another. This should be fun, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. The Blaugrana have to play better but will have a very tough job against a brutal La Real side, and this will be a very intense 90-minute battle.

Follow all the action and related insight from Anoeta in Matchday 2 of the season, with Xavi's Barça looking to get a first win on the board.

1 He feeds Dembélé and Barça create a couple of half chances before being forced to recycle it back to the French forward who fires in a very tempting cross for Lewy. As I said in the build-up, Lewy would love a match ball to take home on his special day. After a lot of too-ing and fro-ing, another streaming counter has the home crowd raising the volume. Yes, La Real have threatened, and definitely will have chances in the second half, but I expect Barça's control to grow. What a blistering start we had to the game! The players are heading out of the tunnel and we are almost ready to go again. We often focus on the attacking and creative aspects of this new Xavi team, and understandably so, but questions remain over the defence he is building. More possession in the final third from Barça but the space is very limited and hence a killer pass all the harder to find. For all the spectacular goals he's scored, he's also bagged many, many from right in front of the target. There is still the noise you'd expect from this group of supporters - and they know their heroes will never give up the cause - but Barça have the look of a team in control of proceedings. That fourth goal took out all the Basque wind from the sails and there's even a hint of a swagger about Barça.

Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Barcelona cruised to a 4-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday, their first win of the new LaLiga season.

"Today we made attacking changes, bringing on Raphinha and Ansu for Balde and Ferran [Torres]. We lacked that in the first half. We played well in spells." We spoke at the break about attacking the space better, that is what we needed to do. "We play with more patience, like in the second half, we're much better. [La Liga on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S.

But the insanity was just beginning as both teams turned a football match into a basketball game with non-stop, up-and-down action with constant counter attacks ...

This was just as tough as expected in the first half, but the squad depth and Xavi’s courage and excellent game management made the difference in the second. Sociedad tried to get a second goal in the dying moments but Barça stayed organized, and the final whistle came to give them all three points at Anoeta. Just two minutes later Ansu was again heavily involved in a goal as he received a pass from Pedri inside the box and played it perfectly into the path of Lewandowski, who doubled the lead with his second goal of the night.

Aug 21 (Reuters) - Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Barcelona cruised to a 4-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday, their first win of the new LaLiga season. Spanish teenage sensation Ansu Fati, who has been struggling to recover after a series of ...

"Today we made attacking changes, bringing on Raphinha and Ansu for Balde and Ferran [Torres]. We lacked that in the first half. We played well in spells." We spoke at the break about attacking the space better, that is what we needed to do. "We play with more patience, like in the second half, we're much better. [La Liga on ESPN+: Stream LIVE games and replays (U.S.

Robert Lewandowski and Barcelona hope to put a frustrating opening weekend behind them as they travel north to meet Real Sociedad in the second match of La ...

Look for a hungry Barcelona front line to feast as they endeavor to get off the mark, and Robert Lewandowski should open his La Liga account. His deflected pass to Isak was deposited into the back of the net from a tight angle. It's a legal intervention as Remiro got a hand to the ball just before the collision, but it looked painful for the young Barcelona midfielder. Real Sociedad have been excellent at home, and had two chances to take the lead, failing to find the back of the net with both. A wonky and awkward free-kick sees the ball bounce over ter Stegen and into the back of the net, but the flag is up for offside to negate the goal. A miserable square throw-in in the La Real defensive third is snatched away by a streaking Gavi, but he's somehow unable to find the back of the net as Real Sociedad players come flying in to throw their bodies in the way. Lewandowski collected the ball at the top of the box, and produces a stunning back-heel assist to Fati for the finish. It comes in from Gavi who slices a cutting vertical ball to Fati, and he pings it to the Pole while falling over. There are deficiencies for Barcelona to sort out, but a glutton of talent won the day on this occasion. Real Sociedad were left to rue a host of missed opportunities in the first half as Takefusa Kubo and David Silva should have scored with big chances. After halftime, however, Real Sociedad misses and the deep Barcelona bench swung the match in favor of Xavi’s side. Barcelona appeared disjointed in a number of areas, displaying key deficiencies that Real Sociedad took advantage of and responded just minutes later via Alexander Isak to level the score.