Barcelona missed the chance to restore their four-point lead at the LaLiga summit after a surprise 2-1 defeat to 10-man Real Sociedad.
Goncalo Guedes scored the winner at the Estadio Municipal de Anoeta as Hansi Flick’s side had three goals disallowed and hit the woodwork five times as their nine-match winning streak was halted.
La Real thought they had taken the lead in the first minute, but Carlos Soler’s thundering finish was disallowed for offside.
Fermin Lopez and Lamine Yamal also saw goals disallowed for offside after VAR assessments on the other side, while Frenkie de Jong was also thwarted by the linesman’s flag.
The hosts broke the deadlock in the 32nd minute when Mikel Oyarzabal smashed home a stunning volley from a Guedes cross.
Barcelona were then denied a penalty in first-half stoppage time, with Yamal adjudged to have been offside in the build-up to the match, while Real Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro tipped Dani Olmo and Robert Lewandowski’s efforts onto the woodwork after the break.
The visitors finally equalized in the 70th minute when Marcus Rashford nodded in Yamal’s cross, but La Real regained the lead inside 60 seconds when Guedes struck home a goal.
Barca hit the woodwork again through Jules Kounde’s header, and the hosts were reduced to ten men when Soler was shown a second yellow card for a foul on Pedri, but they held on for a hard-earned win.
5- Barcelona have become the second team in Europe’s top five leagues to go down five times in one match and still lose after Brighton & Hove Albion against Manchester United in September 2020 (since 2006/07). San Sebastián.#RSO#Barcelonapic.twitter.com/rhx32z2YkF
— OptaJose (@OptaJose) January 18, 2026
Data debrief: Real Sociedad got lucky
Pellegrino Matarazzo is the fourth Real Sociedad boss this century to avoid defeat in each of his first three LaLiga games in charge, after Roberto Olabe, Raynald Denoueix and Imanol Alguacil.
But it’s safe to say that the hosts, who scored 1.01 expected goals (xG) to their opponents’ 3.69 and had just 27.3% possession, were blessed with an element of luck.
Barça became the second team in Europe’s top five leagues to go down five times in one game and still lose, after Brighton suffered the same fate against Manchester United in September 2020.
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