March 02, (THEWILL) – Barcelona reclaimed the top position in La Liga with a convincing 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
The match turned decisively in Barcelona’s favour when Real Sociedad’s Aritz Elustondo received a red card in the 17th minute for denying Dani Olmo a clear goal-scoring opportunity.
Gerard Martin opened the scoring with his first career goal in the 25th minute, followed quickly by
Marc Casado’s deflected effort four minutes later. Both goals came from Dani Olmo’s involvement in the build-up play, giving Hansi Flick’s side a comfortable half-time advantage against the 10-man visitors.
Ronald Araujo extended Barcelona’s lead in the second half, nodding home a rebound after goalkeeper Alex Remiro had initially saved Robert Lewandowski’s header.
Lewandowski himself added the fourth goal with a clever finish, bringing his season tally to 21 goals in 25 La Liga appearances.
The victory allows Barcelona to move back above Atletico Madrid, who had temporarily claimed the top spot with their win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Meanwhile, title challengers Real Madrid dropped points after suffering a defeat at Real Betis, further temporarily strengthening Barcelona’s position in the championship race.
Flick took advantage of the comfortable scoreline to rotate his squad ahead of their Champions League last-16 encounter with Benfica on Wednesday.
The comprehensive victory maintains Barcelona’s impressive form under their manager as they continue their pursuit of domestic and European honours in 2025.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
