Barcelona returned to the top of La Liga with a commanding 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday, in a match that saw them capitalize on an early red card for the visitors.
Aritz Elustondo was shown a red card in the 17th minute for pulling down Dani Olmo as he broke through on goal, giving Barcelona a significant advantage for the rest of the match. The hosts wasted no time in taking control after that.
The first goal came in the 25th minute when Olmo chipped the ball across to Gerard Martin, who fired home for his first-ever goal for Barcelona. Just four minutes later, it was Marc Casado who doubled Barcelona’s lead, with a deflected shot from Olmo finding its way into the net.
Barcelona continued to dominate after the break, with Pedri Gonzalez coming close twice — once hitting the crossbar with a long-range shot. Ronald Araujo made it 3-0 when he converted the rebound off a Robert Lewandowski header that was initially saved by Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
Lewandowski then rounded off the scoring with a clinical finish for Barcelona’s fourth goal, after Araujo’s low drive from distance was parried into the Polish striker’s path.
Barcelona’s 36-year-old striker, Lewandowski, continued his prolific form, now leading the league with 21 goals in 25 appearances.
The match ended without further incident, though substitute Ferran Torres came close to scoring a fifth goal on a couple of occasions. The win pushed Barcelona back to the top of the La Liga table, temporarily overtaking Atletico Madrid, who had earlier defeated Athletic Bilbao, while Real Madrid dropped points in a loss to Real Betis.
The victory also allowed Hansi Flick to rotate his squad ahead of their upcoming Champions League last-16 clash with Benfica on Wednesday.
