Barcelona managed a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad at Anoeta to head into next week’s El Classico with a six point lag behind table toppers Real Madrid.
Luis Enrique’s defending champions have not tasted success at Anoeta since 2007 and the trend seemed to continue when Gerard Pique landed the ball into his own net, while making an attempt to clear Jose’s header just 7 minutes after half time.
The Neymer-Messi combo, then came into rescue for the champions, as the five-time world player of the year finished Neymar’s pass in style to go level on score just before the one-hour mark.
Real Sociedad was unlucky not to take the full three points when a shot from Juanmi was wrongly ruled as an offside. The Carlos Vela strike, which appeared to be a goal as it landed just inside the goal line after hitting the crossbar, was tapped back into the goal in the rebound by Juanmi.
Home team players were shocked by the decision, while Barcelona players were happy that they still had a point to take home from the match.
Vela’s unlucky night continued when his strike hit the crossbar yet again with six minutes remaining to the final whistle. With 47% of ball possession, Barcelona had the ball in their den less than their opponents for the first time this season.
Barcelona with 27 points, the same as Sevilla , is placed second behind Real Madrid, thanks to a better goal difference than Sevilla. Real Madrid, on the other hand, is with a 6 point cushion heading into the high-octane clash with a winning momentum. The fact that Real Madrid is undefeated this season will add salt to the wounds of Barcelona.
Saturday’s El Classico result will not change Real Madrid’s position in the table but will decide the closeness of the title race and Barcelona’s reputation as defending champions.
