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REAL SOCIEDAD-BARCELONA

Barca seal first Liga win at Anoeta since 2007 in comeback

Barcelona broke the curse of Anoeta with their first win since 2007 as Luis Suarez, Paulinho and Lionel Messi helped themselves to goals during the comeback.
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Update:
SAN SEBASTIAN, SPAIN - JANUARY 14: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona scores his team's fourth goal during the La Liga match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at Anoeta stadium on January 14, 2018 in San Sebastian, Spain.  (Photo by David Ramos/Getty
David RamosGetty Images

Real Sociedad 2-4 Barcelona: match report

The rain poured at the Anoeta on Sunday night and so did the goals as Barcelona came back from two goals down in the first half to beat Real Sociedad away from home for the first time since 2007 in LaLiga.

Real Sociedad were quick out of the blocked and had their first goal after 11 minutes when Willian Jose headed home a low cross to set the tone for the remainder of the night.

They had their second after Juanmi struck beyond Ter Stegen, with the help of a deflection, after a wonderful pass from Canales to find him behind enemy lines. 

Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi is congratulated by teammate Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez after scoring their team's fourth goal.
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Barcelona's Argentinian forward Lionel Messi is congratulated by teammate Uruguayan forward Luis Suarez after scoring their team's fourth goal.ANDER GILLENEAAFP

Barcelona stuck to the gameplan, however, and kept plugging away and had their rewards when Luis Suarez squared to Paulinho on 39 minutes to give the visitors a glimmer of hope. It was the Brazilian's 8th goal of the season and an important one too.

After the break, Barcelona turned the game completely on it's head when Luis Suarez curled a sumptuous finished over Rulli and into the back of the net.

He had his second, Barcelona's third, and the go-ahead goal on 71 minutes when he drove past Rulli after a medium-length kick-out was headed directly back into his path.

Messi put a gloss on the scoreline after 85 minutes with an equally dainty curler past Rulli from a free kick. 

Barcelona are now nine points clear of Atlético Madrid and 19 points clear of Real Madrid while Real Sociedad have a relegation battle on their hands.

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona live stream online: coverage

Real Sociedad vs Barcelona live stream online: preview

Barcelona travel to the Anoeta on Sunday night with kick-off at 20:45 CEST in an effort to seperate themselves further from the chasing pack in LaLiga. Real Sociedad, looking to seperate themselves in a completely different race at the bottom, will welcome Barca knowing Messi and co. have not had the most enjoyable times in their stadium recently.

Not since 2007 have Barcelona returned from San Sebastian with a win in LaLiga. They have drawn two and lost five encounters there in the last decade but did taste success in the beautiful coastal town last season in the Copa, which might give them the impetus and belief they need to break their duck at the stadium of their opponents on Sunday night.

The top four is starting to become clearer as Atlético Madrid and Valencia both sealed all three points in tricky away games while Real Madrid lost to Villarreal and it seems los Blancos are no longer direct opponents with Barca for the title. A win at the Anoeta for Ernesto Valverde's side will, however, put them 19 up on their eternal rivals.

Real Sociedad started the season in flying form but have suffered with a leaky defense but have scored a bucket load of goals also this season to offset some of their poor defending. They have the joint-best goal difference of the bottom ten teams and are the third highest scorers in the bottom half too and an in-form Barcelona coming to town might mean a massacre if La Real's defense don't show up.