Barcelona saw their remarkable 11-match winning streak come to a halt as 10-man Real Sociedad managed to secure a thrilling 2-1 victory over the LaLiga leaders at the Reale Arena.
Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoreline for Sociedad just before halftime, after Barcelona had three goals cancelled and a penalty decision overturned for offside. However, Marcus Rashford equalized for the visitors shortly after coming off the bench, just eight minutes later.
Sociedad quickly regained the lead with a goal from Gonçalo Guedes less than a minute later, and despite Carlos Soler’s red card in the closing moments, they held on for a hard-earned win.
Hansi Flick’s side now find themselves just one point ahead of their rivals Real Madrid after suffering their third defeat of the league season, despite dominating large portions of the match.
Barcelona were denied three times by the woodwork in the second half, while Sociedad’s goalkeeper Alejandro Remiro pulled off a number of fantastic saves, particularly against Dani Olmo and substitute Robert Lewandowski.
Sociedad had an early goal correctly disallowed for offside, as Oyarzabal found the net but was ruled off after glancing the ball beyond Joan García. Barcelona gradually found their rhythm after this instance.
Pedri missed a good chance, firing straight at Remiro after being set up by Yamal, and Barcelona thought they had scored when Fermín López hit a low shot into the net, only for it to be disallowed due to a foul on Takefusa Kubo in the buildup after a VAR review.
Frenkie de Jong turned Pedri’s cross-cum-shot but was flagged offside, while Yamal also strayed marginally offside after hitting a shot past Remiro from a tight angle.
Sociedad broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Oyarzabal escaped his marker at the back post to volley home from Guedes’ cross.
Remiro denied chances from Olmo and Yamal, who was brought down in the box by Igor Zubeldia just before halftime, but the penalty that was awarded was overturned because the Barcelona player was offside in the buildup.
The second half saw continued pressure from Barcelona, with Olmo hitting the post twice and Remiro once again brilliantly tipping away a follow-up effort.
Lewandowski had an immediate impact off the bench, almost scoring from Yamal’s cross, but Remiro again made an incredible save, pushing the shot onto the bar.
Rashford finally broke through for Barcelona in the 70th minute, heading home from Yamal’s delivery. However, just seconds after the restart, Barcelona found themselves behind again.
After García saved from Soler’s initial header, the ball fell to Guedes, who struck into the ground and scored as Barcelona failed to clear the danger.
The goal seemed to deflate Barcelona, and Sociedad could have extended their lead further, but Oyarzabal missed a free header while Zubeldia lobbed over the out-of-position García, only for Pau Cubarsí to clear it off the line.
Jules Koundé hit the underside of the bar, and Soler received a red card in the 88th minute for a reckless challenge on Pedri. Nonetheless, Sociedad held firm through nine minutes of stoppage time to secure a memorable victory, moving them up to eighth in the league standings.