On his 34th birthday, Robert Lewandowski scored twice and contributed an assist as Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4-1.
Real Sociedad – FC Barcelona 4-1
Ansu Fati came off the bench in the second half to seize control of the game with two assists and a goal,
giving Barcelona their first victory of the new LaLiga season.
Real Sociedad Barcelona Goals
Lewandowski, a Polish striker who recently joined the team from Bayern Munich,
scored the game’s first goal in the opening minute. Alexander Isak equalised five minutes later after latching onto a pass from David Silva.
In a 4-1 victory over Real Sociedad,
ROBERT LEWANDOWSKI opened the scoring for Barcelona with a brace, and Ansu Fati shone as a replacement.
Lewandowski of Poland,
who just turned 34, gave Barcelona the lead after 50 seconds before La Real’s Alexander Isak tied the score in San Sebastian.
But Fati came off the bench to set up goals for Lewandowski and Ousmane Dembele before adding his own.
Following a dismal goalless draw at home against Rayo Vallecano on the first weekend,
Barca scored their first victory of the year.
After a summer shopping spree that saw the Camp Nou acquire Lewandowski,
Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessie,
coach Xavi had urged “patience” from fans.
All four of those players made their debuts against Rayo,
although France’s Jules Kounde is still waiting for the club to register him following his transfer from Sevilla as they try to solve their financial issues.
Following a disheartening 0-0 home tie with Rayo Vallecano on the first weekend of the season,
Barca scored their first victory of the campaign.
After a summer shopping spree that saw Lewandowski,
Raphinha, Andreas Christensen, and Franck Kessie all move to the Camp Nou,
coach Xavi had urged “patience” from fans.
All four of those players made their debuts against Rayo,
but the club has yet to register France defender Jules Kounde after he transferred from Sevilla as they work to solve their financial issues.
After being held by Rayo Vallecano in a painful draw the previous weekend,
Barcelona’s 4-1 away success over Real Sociedad was the result of Robert Lewandowski’s first two La Liga goals and the opportune substitution of Ansu Fati.
At Anoeta,
the game got off to an exciting start when Robert Lewandowski scored inside the first minute and Alexander Isak quickly responded to equalise.
Alejandro Balde’s lung-busting run from deep down the left flank led to Lewandowski’s first La Liga goal,
a simple first-time finish from just outside the six-yard box that was timestamped at 44 seconds.
When Isak levelled the playing field,
Frenkie de Jong was guilty of being caught in possession. The young Swede received a through ball in the right channel, and with Eric Garcia pressing him,
he barely managed to lift it over the approaching Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
A goal from Ferran Torres from a decent position on the outskirts of the box would have given Barça the lead again as the game had a decidedly end-to-end feel to it. Then,
though, Mikel Merino’s shot was blocked by Ter Stegen,
and Takefusa Kubo’s attempt from the rebound was unsuccessful.
At the conclusion of the first half, La Real believed they had taken the lead,
but Ter Stegen somehow moved fast to his left and deflected a shot from David Silva away from the goal.
Even after the interval,
it still felt like both teams were capable of scoring due to the end-to-end atmosphere. When Brais Mendez whipped a deep free-kick into the box that Robin Le Normand stretched for,
only an offside flag kept the hosts from scoring. A number of La Real players in offside positions were too close to Ter Stegen’s line of sight.
With less than 30 minutes left,
Xavi looked to Fati from the bench,
and it changed everything almost immediately. Ousmane Dembele was let through by the youngster’s backheel half volley,
giving the Catalans the advantage once more. A few minutes later,
Fati snuck into an excellent position in the area and played the ball to Lewandowski, who once more shot perfectly from close range.
Real Sociedad’s spirit was crushed by the quick-fire double,
so it came as no surprise when Barça scored again. From the team’s third goal,
roles were flipped, with Lewandowski acting as an impromptu provider with a backheel flick that Fati easily finished.
On his 34th birthday,
Robert Lewandowski scored his first goals in a competitive game for Barcelona as the Catalan club defeated Real Sociedad to earn their first La Liga victory of the year.
After Alejandro Balde’s low cross, the ex-Bayern Munich striker scored his first goal after just 47 seconds.
Six minutes later, Alexander Isak’s shot that looped in brought the score even.
Lewandowski sidefooted in a third goal,
Ousmane Dembele’s low shot made it 2-1, and Ansu Fati quietly tacked on a fourth.
The victory comes after Barca’s campaign got off to a shaky start on August 13 when they drew 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano at home.
Lewandowski left Bayern with just one year remaining on his contract and joined Barca in the summer for £42 million. Raphinha,
a Brazilian attacker who once played for Leeds United, entered the game as a substitute in the second half.
However, Jules Kounde, a centre defender for France,
was unable to play for Barcelona since he is yet to register as a player after moving from Sevilla at the end of July for financial reasons.
Real Sociedad swiftly responded to Barça’s early lead and appeared to be the more likely team to score again before Barça regained their composure and,
in large part due to the addition of Ansu Fati, scored three goals in succession to end the match.
Robert Lewandowski scored FC Barcelona’s first goal in a competitive game. Alejandro Balde pinpointed the Polish striker in the goal-scoring area as Pedri launched a quick counterattack. Later placed the ball where it belonged.
