Aubameyang helps FC Barcelona beat Real Sociedad to reclaim second spot in La Liga
India Today
Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen made some crucial saves as the Catalans jumped to second place in La Liga, above Sevilla and Atletico de Madrid after beating Real Sociedad 1-0 at the Reale Arena on Thursday.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his 8th league goal as FC Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their La Liga match at the Reale Arena on Thursday after two back-to-back defeats at the Camp Nou. The Catalans are back in second place, level on points with third-placed Sevilla (63) and three points ahead of Atletico de Madrid in fourth.
Xavi’s men are still 15 points off league leaders Real Madrid and the La Liga title is out of their hands. Real Sociedad are sitting in 6th place with 55 points. The win over Sociedad was Barcelona's 5th straight win on the road and first clean sheet in four games in all competitions.
The Catalans have been able to keep just 10 clean sheets in 30 La Liga matches so far this season. Barcelona goalkeeper Marc Andre Ter Stegen was forced to make some great saves to keep Real Sociedad from scoring, particularly in the second half.
Sergio Busquets surpassed Andres Iniesta to be in third place for Barcelona’s all-time appearance list, making his 675th appearance for Barcelona in the game against Real Sociedad. Barcelona manager Xavi Hernandez and PSG forward Lionel Messi are the only players ahead of Busquets, who became the club captain after the Argentinian departed to France in August 2021.
Before kick-off, Sociedad fans paid tribute to Real Sociedad legend and former midfielder David Zurutuza, who retired in 2020, with a ceremony behind closed doors due to COVID-19. The La Real academy graduate who is now 35 years old made 409 appearances for the club in his entire career.
The game started as expected with Barcelona having all the possession, pressing Real Sociedad high who were forced to defend. There were a couple of half-chances for the visitors until the 10th minute when Barcelona winger Ousmane Dembele struck the post but the danger was not averted on the rebound. Gavi won the ball, and found Ferran Torres who unselfishly assisted Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang who headed it into the net, making it 1-0 for the Catalans.
Frenkie de Jong was playing like a box-to-box midfielder, and found little pockets of space and took a few shots, coming very close to scoring at times during the first half.
