- Roo Legend: Rooney Retires from England duty!
- Australasia gets represented in the Premier League this year!
- Sanchez in North London, Where Have We Heard That Before?
- Sigurdsson Sale: Swansea could face Ragnarok after losing Thor!
- 2017/18 Premier League Predictions!
- PSG set to trigger record Neymar Fee!
- Mourinho thrives with a Prag-Matic approach!
- The Loan Ranger: Game of Loans!
- Rome(-lu) Wasn’t Built In A Day, But Hernandez Is Heading Hammers Way!
- Man United, Arsenal, and Huddersfield are all in a dash to splash the cash!
MOTD- Real Sociedad 3-1 Barcelona
Barcelona were coming into the match off of a strong dominant 2-0 away victory over one of, if not the, best sides in England in Manchester City, so to suffer a horrendous two goal loss to Real Sociedad will take the wind out of their sails just when it picked up again. What’s worse is that the Spanish champions are now three full points behind Real Madrid, and possibly Atletico Madrid, following the loss in a very tight thee way race for the La Liga title. Barca have not won at the Anoeta Stadium since mid 2007, but manager Gerardo Martino started with, instead of a side nearly the same as he played against City on Tuesday, but a side that looked like it was resting it’s top players from the start. The relatively inexperienced youngsters Martin Montoya, who didn’t even make the trip to Manchester as a squad member, and Marc Barta filled in for Dani Alves and Javier Mascherano at the back, while Jordi Alba Cesc Fabregas, and Alexis Sanchez were also replaced by inferiors. Meanwhile, even Sergio Busquets was played out of position. It was almost as if he was trying to lose the match.
My reading of the game wasn’t up to what the match demanded. Perhaps delaying the change [Fabregas for Song] was a mistake, but the two goals came close together. Rotation is great, just as long as the results are good.” – Barcelona manager Gerardo Martino
Certainly, it seemed that way after the visitors began the match at a rather lackluster tempo. Although Andres Iniesta curled a twenty-yard effort just wide of the post twenty-three minutes in, Barca had almost nothing to show for in terms of chances in the first half. However, the same couldn’t be said for Sociedad. Antoine Griezmann had already tested Victor Valdes with a long range free-kick in the fifth minute and Carlos Vela let one rip just over a half hour in, before the home side finally took the lead in the thirty-third minute. Sergio Canales curled a cross in from the left following a short corner, and an under pressure Alex Song accidentally turned it into his own net off his chest.
Yet Barcelona would equalize in stunning fashion only three minutes later after some wonderful one touch football around the Sociedad penalty area finished as Busquets dummied Montoya’s short pass, which then rolled into the feet of Lionel Messi. The former World Player of the Year capped off Barcelona’s brightest moment of the match by taking one touch to set up a shot before hammering a low effort into the bottom right corner from the edge of the box.
But Sociedad were not fazed. Mikel Gonzalez headed a corner narrowly over eight minutes into the second half, just moments before Jagoba Arrasate’s side retook the lead. On the break, Carlos Vela curled a low cross into Griezmann, who turned the ball home from ten yards. This time, Barca could not find an equalizer, and in fact, it was Sociedad who grabbed another goal within minutes of their second. Griezmann was again at the heart of the goal, chipping an incredible pass over the Barca defense towards the unmarked run of David Zurutuza right through the middle of the Barca box. Zurutuza controlled the ball with a soft touch before poking it past Valdes, but Sociedad didn’t even back off or park the bus. Vela struck a low shot onto the base of the post nine minutes from time, yet Barca warded off what would have been a goal that would’ve made it an even worse embarrassment. Still, it was rather embarrassing anyhow, and certainly beneficial for Barca’s adversaries.
Man of the Match: Antoine Griezmann