"Three Barcelona goals were ruled out. A penalty was given and then taken away. Dani Olmo hit the post twice in the same sequence. Jules Koundé and Robert Lewandowski rattled the frame as well. Alex Remiro was outstanding, producing saves that kept Real Sociedad alive long enough to punish the smallest errors. And the numbers back up the eye test. Barcelona finished with around 3.67 expected goals."
"The refereeing inevitably became part of the story. Fermín López saw an early goal ruled out for a foul in the buildup. Lamine Yamal had another disallowed after a marginal offside call involving Jules Koundé. A penalty awarded late in the first half was overturned when VAR judged Yamal to be offside in the phase before contact. Some games feel familiar for the wrong reasons."
Barcelona lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad, ending an 11-game winning run and cutting their lead over Real Madrid to one point. The match featured multiple disallowed Barcelona goals, a penalty initially awarded then overturned, and several strikes that hit the woodwork. Alex Remiro produced crucial saves that kept Real Sociedad in the match. Barcelona recorded around 3.67 expected goals while Real Sociedad had about 1.01, figures that normally predict a different result. Real Sociedad defended compactly at home, capitalized on clinical chances including Mikel Oyarzabal's opener, and punished a brief but costly defensive lapse after Barcelona's equalizer.
Read at Barca Blaugranes
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