Barcelona held by Real Socieded in entertaining 2-2 draw

Barcelona gave Real Madrid the chance to go top of La Liga ahead of Wednesday’s Clasico at Camp Nou as they were held to a 2-2 draw by high-flying Real Sociedad on Saturday.

A mistake by Barca’s usually excellent goalkeeper Marc-Andre
ter Stegen gifted the home side an equaliser in a thrilling contest at Anoeta
between two of the division’s most attacking teams.

Antoine Griezmann and Luis Suarez looked to have turned the
game around after Mikel Oyarzabal scored an early penalty but Real Sociedad
claimed a deserved point as Ter Stegen parried into the path of Alexander Isak.

Madrid will pull two points clear at the top of the table if
they win away at in-form Valencia on Sunday, which could prove a significant
psychological boost ahead of their crunch meeting with Barcelona in midweek.

“Wednesday’s game will be different,” said Barca
coach Ernesto Valverde. “The game has a special meaning but there are some
things we need to improve.”

Atletico Madrid have work to do to rejoin the title chase
but they capitalised on Barca’s slip a few hours later by beating Osasuna 2-0.

Real Sociedad, meanwhile, move to within three points of
Sevilla in third and showed why many have them circled as genuine challengers
for Champions League qualification this season.

Barca may have had one eye on their next encounter,
particularly given renewed fears of unrest around the Clasico, which had to be
postponed in October due to Catalan independence protests.

Two tight penalty calls also went Real Sociedad’s way as
they got one for a shirt-pull by Sergio Busquets and got with away another as
Gerard Pique went down at the back post late on.

“If you set the bar so low for the first penalty, you have
to give the others,” said Busquets. “The foul on Pique was clear. I
think the referee saw it but he didn’t want to whistle.”

Yet Real Sociedad were excellent value for their point, with
Martin Odegaard, the Norwegian playmaker on loan from Real Madrid, delivering a
majestic display to help his parent club’s title bid.

“Now he is playing regularly you can see what a player
he is,” said Valverde.

Barcelona were on the ropes for much of the first half an
hour as their opponents moved the ball quickly through the lines, with Odegaard
the orchestrator.

Odegaard gave Busquets a torrid time and too often Barca
were opened up through the middle. On one occasion, Nacho Monreal might have
shot but chose to cross, forcing Gerard Pique into a last-ditch clearance.

Simple finish

The home goal though came from a corner as Busquets was
spotted tugging Diego Llorente’s shirt.

The offence seemed minor but referee Javier Alberola had a
clear view. Oyarzabal made no mistake from the spot.

Barcelona were yet to create a genuine chance but in the
38th minute they were level as Suarez freed Griezmann, who drew the goalkeeper
before scooping his finish brilliantly into the net. Griezmann chose not to
celebrate against his former club.

The visitors improved after half-time and were ahead within
four minutes of the restart. Busquets clipped a ball over the top of Llorente,
who stepped up at the wrong time, allowing Lionel Messi to skip free.

He generously sidefooted left to Suarez, who had an open
goal.

Pique almost made it 3-1 but his header was cleared off the line
by Mikel Merino.

Instead Real Sociedad levelled. Monreal’s cross caused panic
and Ter Stegen parried the ball straight to Isak, who had a simple finish five
yards out.

Atletico reduced the gap behind Barcelona to six points,
albeit having played a game more, after they scored twice in the second half to
beat Osasuna.

Diego Simeone’s side had managed only one goal in their
previous three league matches and looked set for another night of frustration
when the score was goalless after an hour at the Wanda Metropolitano.

But Alvaro Morata headed in Kieran Trippier’s crossed
free-kick in the 67th minute and Saul Niguez added a second eight minutes
later, finishing off a neat move on the edge of the area involving Morata and
Angel Correa.

Article source: https://www.samaa.tv/sports/2019/12/barcelona-held-by-real-socieded-in-entertaining-2-2-draw/