La Real were unable to beat FC Barcelona at the Camp Nou (4-2). The side from Barcelona were the better team and although the txuri urdin added two in the final minutes, they come home empty handed.
The hosts started very well and made it hard for the txuri urdin who went behind. Piqué made it 1-0 after nineteen minutes. The player beat the guests' goalkeeper with a powerful header. With 30 minutes on the clock, our team’s intensity rose and the squad tried to level the tie before the break. However, Imanol’s side did not manage to have Neto against the ropes.
In the second half, the txuri urdin sought to press high from the off in an effort to stop the ball being played out from the back. Oyarzabal had two chances. First, his effort was kept out by the Eric García. Then, his shot went just wide. In the 59 minute, Braithwaite added a third for Barça and hopes vanished. However, when we thought it was over, la Real put themselves in the driving seat. The txuri urdin youngster Julen Lobete marked his Laliga debut with a goal after converting from Barrenetxea’s pass. Two minutes later, Oyarzabal did what he does best. The forward fired a stunning free-kick effort which nestled in the corner of the hosts’ net. 3-2 and five minutes left. The txuri urdin went out for more but Sergi Roberto put the tie to bed after a pass from Braithwaite.
It was not a good start to LaLiga but we've got to quickly move on from this because we’ve got another game on Sunday. La Real will face Rayo Vallecano at the Reale Arena. Aupa Real!
Match details:
FC Barcelona: Neto, Dest (Emerson, min.71), Piqué, Eric García (Araujo, min.83), Alba, Sergio (cap) (Nico, min.83), De Jong (Sergi Roberto, min.72), Pedri, Griezmann, Memphis (Lenglet, min.90) and Braithwaite.
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Zaldua (Gorosabel, min.66), Aritz (Pacheco, min.81), Le Normand, Aihen, Zubimendi, Merino, Silva (Barrenetxea, min.46), Januzaj (Bautista, min.46), Oyarzabal (cap) and Portu (Lobete, min.66).
Goals: 1-0: Piqué, min.19. 2-0: Braithwaite, min.45+2. 3-0: Braithwaite, min.59. 3-1: Lobete, min.82. 3-2: Oyarzabal, min.85. 4-2: Setgi Roberto, min.91.
Referee: Hernández Hernández. Booked Sergio and Nico for FC Barcelona and Zubimendi, Aritz,Aihen and Le Normand for Real Sociedad.