Real Sociedad 2-4 FC Barcelona: 5 Talking Points
Barcelona ended their 10-year long Anoeta Stadium hoodoo in the league with a spectacular 4-2 comeback victory over Real Sociedad to go 19 points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid.
Willian Jose and Juanmi struck a goal apiece to put the hosts 2-0 up with just over half an hour gone, but Paulinho halved the deficit before the break. A brilliant brace from Luis Suarez post the interval put the Blaugrana in the driving seat, before Lionel Messi wrapped up the proceedings with an amazing free-kick to surpass Gerd Muller with 366th league goal.
The victory was their first at San Sebastian in nearly 11 years, as Ernesto Valverde's side continue to inch closer to the title. With that being said, let's delve into some of the major talking points from a rainy night in Basque Country:
#5 The writing wasn't on the wall for once for Barcelona
Given Barcelona's terrible record away at San Sebastian, many critics would've expected them to drop points here. Or even go down to a defeat for the first time this season. But the fact of the matter is, for the first time in several years, Barcelona were in a great position to break the niggling jinx. And they did so with aplomb.
Even though the warning signs were there when La Real raced 2-0 ahead, the Catalan's rich vein of form coupled with a winning mentality this season meant the writing wasn't on the wall for once. They were always going to win this and the scoreline was merely a foregone conclusion.
The Blaugrana have been a different beast under Valverde, executing a new brand of football as the situation demands. After the comprehensive Copa del Rey victory just a few days earlier, the Catalan giants continued being the hard-hitting side we're so accustomed to as Sociedad were well beaten in the second half.