Barcelona secured a late victory against Sociedad, returning from their defeat in El Clasico with help from their ace defender Ronald Araujo.
A header by Ronald Araujo in second-half stoppage time rescued a win for Barcelona after a lackluster performance against Real Sociedad.
The Uruguayan defender’s goal was a bright spot in an otherwise disappointing showing by Blaugrana, earning Xavi’s team a fortunate 1-0 victory with three points.
The home team nearly scored within the first 30 seconds, putting pressure on Marc-Andre ter Stegen, who made an impressive diving save. Barca’s goalkeeper was once again called into action 15 minutes later, this time denying Take Kubo, who had a strong performance, at the near post.
Real Sociedad had additional scoring opportunities throughout the match, but their lack of precision in front of the goal, coupled with some impressive saves by Barcelona’s goalkeeper, kept them from finding the back of the net.
Barcelona, on their part, struggled to generate much offense. Robert Lewandowski, who returned to the starting lineup, had minimal impact, touching the ball only 12 times in a disappointing 57 minutes of play. This might be attributed to his team’s inability to control the game.
However, in the end, that didn’t matter much. Araujo delivered the decisive blow in the 92nd minute, making a surprise appearance in the box and heading Ilkay Gundogan’s angled delivery into the net, securing three points that they didn’t truly deserve.
