FC Barcelona's momentum was halted in San Sebastián. Several goals were disallowed, and the goalframe denied Barcelona three times. In the end, they conceded a blow and failed to solidify their lead.
FC Barcelona lost 1-2 to Real Sociedad in a 2025-2026 La Liga round 20 away match at Estadio Municipal de Anoeta in San Sebastián, Spain, on the 19th (Korean time).
Barcelona, whose nine-game winning streak in the league was halted, remained on 49 points and faced a fierce chase from second-place Real Madrid (48 points). Sociedad earned their second home win of the season against Barcelona and moved up to eighth place.
The flow of the match was turbulent from the start. In the first minute of the first half, Sociedad's goal was ruled offside, and soon after Barcelona had Fermín López's long-range shot ruled out after a VAR review. Later, Barcelona saw goals from Frenkie de Jong and Lamine Yamal both ruled offside in succession, leaving them dejected.
Amid the misfortune, Sociedad were the first to smile. In the 32nd minute of the first half, Mikel Oyarzabal finished Gonzalo Guedes' cross with a left-footed non-stop shot to break the deadlock. Barcelona seemed to earn a penalty in first-half stoppage time, but an offside call again denied them an equalizing chance.
The pattern continued in the second half. Dani Olmo hit the goalframe twice with consecutive shots early in the half, and Robert Lewandowski's header was blocked by the goalkeeper's save and the crossbar. Barcelona launched a major substitution-driven counterattack in the middle of the second half and finally found a reward.
Marcus Rashford, who was brought on in the 25th minute of the second half, connected Lamine Yamal's cross with a header to score the equalizer. It was his eighth official goal since joining on loan from Manchester United.
The joy was short-lived. Just one minute later, Sociedad took the lead again. Gonzalo Guedes finished Carlos Soler's header second ball with a powerful shot to open Barcelona's goal.
A late-game turning point occurred. In the 43rd minute of the second half, Soler attempted a hard tackle on Pedri and received a red card after a VAR review. Barcelona mounted an all-out attack with a numerical advantage, but even Jules Koundé's header struck the crossbar and they ultimately failed to find the equalizer.
The match ultimately ended in a 2-1 victory for Sociedad. Barcelona suffered their third league loss of the season after three goals were disallowed and the goalframe struck them three times, plagued by bad luck. Sociedad, meanwhile, left a strong impression by defeating Barcelona at home in consecutive seasons after a fierce battle.
They kept first place, but the cushion was gone.
[OSEN]