La Liga: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad: Hits and Flops
Barcelona took another step towards retaining their crown as Clement Lenglet and Jordi Alba were on target to secure all three points for the reigning champions.
Like on many occasions in the recent weeks, the Blaugrana started off without any flair and were on course to head into the break goalless until Lenglet cropped up with a pin-point header to break the deadlock just before the whistle.
La Real then took advantage of the hosts' sloppiness as Juanmi finished a beautiful move from the visitors to restore parity. However, that lasted only for a fleeting moment as Alba then arrowed a low-drive belter for the winner.
With another victory in the bag, Barcelona now need only seven points from the remaining five games to seal a 26th league title.
Here are the hits and flops from the match:
Hit: Lionel Messi
No goals for the Argentine wizard this time, but his significance to Barcelona's fortunes was as much as it has always been.
A relentless passer of the ball and a thorn in Sociedad's face with his mazy dribbles, Messi orchestrated his team's play for most of the match. His link-up play with the likes of Luis Suarez and Ousmane Dembele often opened up goal-scoring avenues. On many occasions, Messi also dropped deep in the midfield to win the ball back and keep the juices flowing.
In a season full of crests and troughs, the 31-year old ace has constantly dragged his side through the dirt. And when Barcelona were looking for another winner, showed up again as he brilliantly picked out Alba down the left and the latter did the rest. Now that's 13 assists for him for the season!
And he surely isn't done yet.