La Liga: Barcelona pounds Real Sociedad 4-0, returning to top

Barcelona: FC Barcelona regained the top spot in La Liga with a dominant 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the Estadi Olimpic on Sunday. The match, which saw the visitors reduced to ten men in the 17th minute due to a red card for Aritz Elustondo, was never in doubt after Barcelona capitalised on their numerical advantage.

The win leaves Barcelona two points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of the table, with Real Madrid now three points behind following their loss to Betis the previous day.

Real Sociedad started with intent, creating a couple of early chances, including a disallowed goal and a shot that hit the crossbar, both from offside positions. However, their hopes of causing an upset were dashed when Elustondo received a red card after a foul on Dani Olmo. With over an hour left to play, the game was effectively decided in Barcelona's favour.

Barcelona quickly took control of the match, and it was a memorable night for a couple of young players. Gerard Martin opened the scoring with his first-ever professional goal after Lamine Yamal's skilful run and an assist from Olmo. Then, shortly after, Olmo himself found the net. A corner kick was poorly punched by Sociedad's goalkeeper, Álex Remiro, and Olmo's subsequent shot took a deflection off Marc Casadó, rolling into the net to make it 2-0.

With the game already well in hand, Barcelona's dominance continued into the second half. Ronald Araujo, scoring his first goal since returning from injury, headed in a rebound after Robert Lewandowski's initial shot. Soon after, Lewandowski himself scored, securing his 11th goal of 2025 with a rebound off following Araujo’s long-range strike.

With the job done in La Liga, Barcelona will focus on their UCL clash vs Benfica on Thursday in the Round of 16, whereas Real Sociedad will shift their focus to their upcoming Europa League fixture against Manchester United.