Real Sociedad were outstanding for 80 minutes against Barcelona on Reale Arena, but somehow, Imanol Alguacil and his side came away with nothing to show for it as Ronald Araujo’s 93rd-minute header ensured a smash-and-grab victory for the Catalans.
Not only was it a very disappointing defeat for La Real, it also ended two impressive streaks that they had built up from earlier in the season. As per MD, the match was the first time in 14 matches that they have failed to score at the Reale Arena, dating back to the 0-0 draw with Roma in March. Marc-Andre Ter Stegen is the reason for that run being broken, with the German goalkeeper having been in excellent form on Saturday.
Secondly, La Real’s 17-match unbeaten streak at home was also ended, with Txuri-urdin having last been defeated on their own patch back in February, when they lost 1-0 to Real Valladolid, who would go on to be relegated later in the season.
Real Sociedad must pick themselves up quickly from the defeat as they prepare to host Benfica on MD4 of the 2023-24 Champions League group stages on Wednesday, when they will hope to restart the streaks that were broken against Barcelona.
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