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Updated: December 17, 2020 10:47:52 am
Jordi Alba of Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Spanish League match between FC Barcelona and Real Sociedad at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, Spain, on Wednesday, December 16, 2020 (AP Photo / Joan Monfort).
Barcelona defender Jordi Alba scored a goal and set up another to trigger a 2-1 comeback over Real Sociedad, depriving the Basque side of a Spanish league lead on Wednesday.
Alba disallowed Willian José’s first goal with a strike in the 32nd minute. The left-back helped the hosts take the lead a minute before halftime as he crossed for Frenkie de Jong to score.
The result shuffled the order of Sociedad, Atlético de Madrid and Real Madrid, all tied on points at the top of the table and separated only by goal difference. Atlético is now in first place, Sociedad in second and Madrid in third.
Barcelona’s victory increased their chances of joining the title contest. Lionel Messi’s team climbed to fifth place, six points behind the top. Atlético has three pending games, Barcelona two and Madrid one, with respect to the Society.
“I think this was our best game of the season,” Alba said. “It’s hard to play without fans (due to COVID-19 restrictions), but playing against a great team was more than enough motivation. Our attitude tonight was great. We saw a Barça that fought for each ball as if it were the last ”.
While contributing as Barcelona’s main playmaker, Messi was unable to seriously threaten to score and twice failed to find teammates on promising counterattacks.
Teammates forwards Antoine Griezmann and Martin Braithwaite were also missing their finishing touch.
However, the team maintained its intense pressure on defense in the field and moved the ball quickly in attack to continue creating opportunities.
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“The attitude of our team was very good, especially when we didn’t have the ball. The team took a giant step forward in pushing to regain possession, ”said Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman. “This is the game we want to play. This is the team I want to see. Each player did their part ”.
Koeman may have also found a new combination for the heart of the defense with Gerard Piqué injured. Koeman gave center back Clement Lenglet a rest and chose to line up a pair of inexperienced centers with Ronald Araújo and Óscar Mingueza. They both performed well against one of the fastest and most talented attacks in the league.
His only mistake came late in the game when Mingueza was unable to intercept a long ball from substitute forward Alexander Isak, but Pedro “Pedri” González ran back to block his shot before crashing into the post. Pedri was substituted after the strong blow but left the field of play.
The Society was without David Silva and top scorer Mikel Oyarzabal, both with minor injuries.
However, with Spanish midfielder Mikel Merino leading their attack, the Sociedad still had more than enough talent to unleash an engaging attack that has made it a potential title contender.
Willian José finished off a set piece to open the scoring at 28. Robin Le Normand brought Portuguese Cristian “Portu” into the area, where he squared the ball for the Brazilian forward to touch the goal.
Alba responded with a precise right-footed shot after Pedri redirected a pass from Griezmann near the edge of the area.
Barcelona continued to press for the lead goal, which Alba mounted when he sent a low cross that slightly deflected a defender before reaching De Jong.
La Sociedad recovered late and forced Barcelona to rely on Marc-Andre ter Stegen to protect their advantage. The German crouched down for back-to-back saves to deny Willian José and Isak with five minutes remaining.
“It’s been a long, long time that we haven’t seen Barcelona play with that level of aggressiveness, and that speaks of the respect they have for us,” said the Society’s coach, Imanol Alguacil. “We were not as clinical as we had to be. We have to convert our opportunities. “
COPA DEL REY
Valencia needed extra time to beat Terrassa 4-2 in the first round of the Copa del Rey with top-flight teams.
Atlético Madrid, Villarreal, Levante, Alavés and Elche all enjoyed comfortable victories.
