Barcelona fall at Real Sociedad

Barcelona, the leader, returned with a loss from its rival Real Sociedad (0-1), on Sunday, in the 13th round of the Spanish Football League.

The winning goal for the Basque team was scored by its Surinamese player Sheraldo Becker 33.

Barcelona's balance froze at 33 points after suffering its second defeat in the league this season, with a difference of only 6 points from second-placed Real Madrid, which has a postponed match.

In front of Real Sociedad, his catch became 18 points in eighth place.

Hansi Flick's side, who have won all their games since their only league defeat at Osasuna 4-2 on September 28, failed to restore the nine-point gap that separates them from their rivals, second-placed Real Madrid, who beat Osasuna 4-0 on Saturday and reduced the gap to five points with a game in hand.

Barcelona suffered a defeat in the absence of its young star, Lamine Jamal, who "suffered a severe bruise to his right ankle during Wednesday's match against Red Star Belgrade" in the Champions League (5-2), according to the Catalan club, which added, "He underwent treatment in recent days, but the discomfort still exists."

The 17-year-old could withdraw from Spain's squad for Friday's Nations League matches against Denmark and Monday's against Switzerland.

The two teams did not offer much at the beginning of the match, and the most prominent moments were when the Polish Robert Lewandowski scored a goal for the Catalan host, which was disallowed for offside after resorting to the video assistant referee (VAR) (15). In a scene that sparked widespread controversy.

Numbers from the meeting

- Barcelona have failed to register a shot on target in a league match for at least the second time since the 2003-04 season, and the first time since September 2014 against Malaga at La Rosaleda under Luis Enrique Martínez.

- Barcelona have suffered seven defeats in their 21 visits to the Real Arena in the league in the 21st century (W9 D5), only at the Santiago Bernabéu (nine) have they lost more games than at all the grounds they have visited in the competition since then (also seven at the Abanca-Balaídos).

- Barcelona failed to score in a match in all competitions for the first time since March 2024 against Athletic Bilbao in the league (0-0), ending their best scoring streak (30 games) since January 2019 (39).

- Real Sociedad have won two of their last four La Liga games against Barcelona (L2).

(beIN Sports)