Barça stumble against everything at Anoeta

San SebastiánAgainst a Real Sociedad side reborn since Pellegrino Matarazzo took over as manager. Against Gil Manzano and Del Cerro Grande. Against poor finishing and bad luck: five shots hitting the woodwork. Barça battled for victory at Anoeta against all odds, but their opponent was more clinical in both penalty areas (2-1). Doing far less, the Basque side reaped a much greater reward thanks to goals from Oyzarbal and Guedes, which canceled out Rashford's goal that only secured a brief draw. A defeat for a Barça team desperate with the referee's performance, leaving them just one point behind Real Madrid at the end of the matchday. Hansi Flick's men fought against the ten plagues of Egypt in their visit to Anoeta, and nothing went their way.

Barça tried everything, but couldn't find the net. They were better than their opponent, but failed to capitalize in the penalty areas where matches are decided. The match started lively, with an early goal disallowed for offside against Oyazarbal and another for Fermín due to a previous foul by Olmo. The Basque captain had headed in a cross from Guedes, and the Barça midfielder had connected well with a shot from the edge of the box, but the VAR review – the duo of Gil Manzano, with Del Cerro Grande in the video assistant referee room, was causing Barça some nervousness – invalidated the play because of Olmo. Earlier, Pedri had been denied by a good save from Remiro. All of this happened in less than 10 minutes, under the relentless rain in the San Sebastián sky.

Before the half-hour mark, there were two more Barça goals disallowed. The first was quickly resolved: De Jong scored from a clear offside position. The second one took longer to resolve. In a lengthy sequence, a combination between Koundé and Lamine ended with the Frenchman assisting the Catalan, who was caught offside—one of those calls that proves modern football is also full of absurdities. If he really was offside, the Barça number 10 was only slightly ahead of his marker. Just like last season, when Lewandowski was the victim, the referee from Cerro Grande once again denied the Catalans a goal with an offside call that no amount of rubbing your eyes could ever definitively confirm.

Lamine Yamal, the one who tries the hardest

Almost all of Barça's attacking output flowed through Lamine Yamal. The winger from Rocafonda, who rarely contributed defensively, was very active in attack, delivering dangerous passes and producing a couple of runs where he beat opponent after opponent. Seva's pass into the heart of the penalty area was a key one that Olmo finished disastrously. The home side, spurred on by a roaring crowd and enveloped in a festive atmosphere – the Tamborrada festival in San Sebastián is this Tuesday – would be the first to find a reward that the Blaugrana deserved more.

The defense cleared a cross from Joan, the ball fell in midfield to Guedes, who, under slight pressure from Koundé and Pedri, was able to turn and send a pass to Kubo. The Japanese player timed the attack well, returning the ball to Guedes so the Portuguese could send in a tight and precise cross to the far post, which Oyzabal headed home. Juan could do nothing. The goal was a slap in the face, but Barça didn't back down and continued attacking. Lamine was fouled for a penalty, but it was the umpteenth action ruled out by VAR before halftime. Zubeldia's foul was clear-cut, and Gil Manzano pointed to the spot, but it was overturned because the winger was offside.

Remiro and the woodwork kick

In the second half, it wasn't just the referee's decisions that denied Barça an equalizer, but also the woodwork, first, and then Remiro. Barça started brightly. Olmo was the first to hit the post, after a long pass from Fermín that Ferran just missed, and the Terrassa native couldn't get enough control when the home goalkeeper was already beaten. He then struck the woodwork again, confirming that the woodwork would be a constant threat for Barça all night. Although Flick's men were creating danger, they lacked the finishing touch. And here, Barça missed the... punch Raphinha's goal. Olmo, who was brought on to replace him, wasn't accurate and, in his last action before being substituted, made a mistake on a counter-attack that Ferran had initiated well.

It would also be one of Ferran's last actions, because Flick brought on Lewandowski, Rashford, and gave Cancelo his (re)debut at left-back. New faces, but Remiro and the crossbar would continue to be a constant threat. A cross from Lamine, who was everywhere, was met by Lewandowski, but the goalkeeper made a brilliant save to deflect the ball, which ended up hitting the crossbar. The Blaugrana didn't know what the future held. Through sheer persistence, Rashford would finally equalize after a gift from Lamine. The joy wouldn't last a minute because Real Sociedad responded immediately, leaving Flick's men empty-handed. A cross from the left was met by a powerful shot from Carlos Soler between Cubarsí and Eric. Joan managed to stop it, but Soler himself collected the rebound and laid the equalizer on a plate for Guedes. With Barça reeling, Real Sociedad could have extended their lead, but Oyarzabal shot wide and Cubarsí cleared a ball off the line. Maintaining the 2-1 scoreline and Soler's late sending-off allowed Barça to believe until the final whistle, but the crossbar denied Koundé and Rashford the equalizer. It wasn't Flick's men's night, though they can't be faulted for trying until the very last minute.