Full-time! Barcelona 4-2 Real Sociedad
It was all looking so easy for Barcelona until two quickfire goals from Real Sociedad made things interesting. The overall news is good for Barcelona as they looked sharp and Depay had a cracking debut.
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GOAL! Barcelona 4-2 Real Sociedad (Sergi Roberto, 90+2)
Game over (again)! Braithwaite with a cracking cross from the right, which finds Sergi Roberto who taps home from a yard out.
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90 mins: Remiro receives a backpass and takes a terrible touch, allowing Girezmann to nick it off him but the goalkeeper recovers in time to get the ball back.
Five mins added on.
89 mins: Barcelona go to three centre backs, as Depay is replaced by Lenglet.
87 mins: Can Barcelona hold on? It is getting tense.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-2 Real Sociedad (Oyarzabal, 85)
Real Sociedad are wrongly awarded a free-kick 25 yards from goal. Oyarzabal steps up, wraps his foot around it and pings the ball into the top corner, leaving Neto with no chance.
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84 mins: Nico and Araujo are on for Busquets and Garcia.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-1 Real Sociedad (Lobete, 82)
A nice move, ends with a beautiful pass through the defence for Lobete to latch onto and stick across Neto into the corner. Game on?
80 mins: This is very slow now. Nothing to see.
78 mins: The well-hydrated players are back and Le Normand uses his new-found energy to take down Depay. He gets a booking for his misadventure.
75 mins: HYDRATION BREAK! Drinks all round.
73 mins: Barcelona are just slowly passing the ball around the pitch as both teams wait for the game to end.
Some life comes to the game, as Pedri turns to shoot from 16 yards but Remiro tips his shot over.
71 mins: Sergi Roberto and Emerson on for Barcelona. Their squad isn’t too bad.
69 mins: Pace of the game: Lionel Messi testimonial in 2045.
67 mins: Merino lines up a shot from the edge of the area, forcing Neto to get down smartly to his left to make the save.
65 mins: More changes planned for Real Sociedad who are looking to rest players, which is an interesting place to be on the opening day of the season.
63 mins: Munoz goes into the book for a very clumsy challenge.
61 mins: It is all done and dusted now, let’s be honest. Good news in the short term for Barcelona. Can they keep up this form?
GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Real Sociedad (Braithwaite, 59)
The Dane gets his second of the game after smart work down the left ends with Alba’s cross being palmed into the path of Braithwaite by Remiro, allowing the striker to slam the ball home.
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57 mins: Some fans are shouting “Messi”. in the stands but others are trying to drown them out with “Barca” chants. What a joyous season ahead at the Camp Nou.
55 mins: Real Sociedad are looking very bright and have already created a few chances. Barcelona need to respond here to avoid letting the visitors back into the game.
53 mins: Oyarzabal gets another chance, this time on the edge of the box, but he can only curl it well wide.
51 mins: Jordi Alba is played through by De Jong, he is an inch or two offside but is allowed to play on and gets one-on-one with Remiro, only to place his shot wide.
Down the other end, Oyarzabal gets into the box and lets off a shot which is deflected over the bar by Garcia.
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49 mins: Real Sociedad have had plenty of the ball in recent minutes but without looking like breaking through the Barcelona defence.
47 mins: Two half-time subs for Real Sociedad. Januzaj and Silva off, Jon Bautista and Barrenetxea on.
Second half
Here we go again!
The Pique opener.
Pique takes a pay cut to help his club, heads in their first goal of the season, and then kisses the badge in celebration! 👏
— Premier Sports 📺 (@PremierSportsTV) August 15, 2021
A Barcelona legend 🔵🔴 pic.twitter.com/k3jafCXXxx
Half-time! Barcelona 2-0 Real Sociedad
The Messi-free Barcelona looked like they could streamroll Real Sociedad in the opening 20 minutes and earned their opener. The visitors, however, recovered and were very in the game until the final few seconds of the half.
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GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Real Sociedad (Braithwaite, 45+2)
The former Middlesbrough striker gets into space at the back post where he meets a cross from the right perfectly and heads home from six yards.
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45 mins: Depay takes a pitiful free-kick and Real Sociedad clear, allowing them to counter and ultimately win a corner, which comes to nothing.
Two minutes added on.
43 mins: Pepped up on isotonic drinks, Real Sociedad have been better since the break on the half hour mark. They look more happy when it comes to containing Barcelona.
41 mins: Munoz gets to the byline after good work from Silva and Oyarzabal, as Real Sociedad win a corner on the left. Januzaj lifts it in but Barcelona easily clear.
39 mins: Januzaj tries to catch a ball over the top from Merino but Alba reads the danger and heads it back to Neto.
37 mins: Zubimendi catches Pedri late on the instep. The young midfielder is down in pain, while the Basque gets a booking.
35 mins: Real Sociedad are trying to play out from the back and getting on the ball more than in the opening half an hour. Keeping the ball away from Barcelona is a bit of a challenge, that’s for sure.
33 mins: We are back and hydrated. Depay was complaining to the referee about a kick on the ankle or thereabouts before the break but he seems OK.
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30 mins: It is very hot in Spain, so we are having a drinks break.
29 mins: There are a smattering of fans around the Nou Camp with around 16,000 allowed into the stadium.
27 mins: Barcelona very much in the ascendency still. Real Sociedad must be very tired already.
Depay is in confident mood, as he drops into midfield, collects the ball and pings a shot from 45 yards in an attempt to catch out Remiro but the goalkeeper gets into the right position to claim.
25 mins: Depay is the star man for Barcelona thus far. A neat touch from the Dutchman sets De Jong free, who plays it out to Braithwaite, allowing him to cross but the stretching Depay can only foul Remiro, rather than score.
23 mins: Portu is not happy with his treatment from Garcia, as the Barcelona man is keeping him very quiet. The Real Sociedad man goes down in his own half but the referee does not care.
21 mins: Braithwaite goes down holding his ankle after a clash but he belatedly gets back up.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Real Sociedad (Pique, 19)
Depay swings in a free-kick for the runners to attack and it is Pique who gets on the end of it, flicking it beyond Remiro. What a way to celebrate a pay cut.
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18 mins: Eric Garcia reads the danger at the back and beats Portu to the ball. The co-commentator keeps describing Garcia as being “quick”. He was really bloody slow at Man City, so I am confused.
16 mins: Real Sociedad have not got into this game as an attacking force thus far. They have barely touched the ball in the Barcelona half.
14 mins: Dest has looked very impressive on the right flank. He loves pushing forward and does his best to bundle his way through a couple of defenders before eventually being stopped in the box.
12 mins: A lot of short, sharp passing from Barcelona is opening things up. They earn another corner - Griezmann gets across his man at the front post to flick Depay’s cross against the bar.
10 mins: A short corner makes it way to Griezmann in the box but his overhead kick flies just wide
8 mins: Busquets sends the ball out to Dest but his cross is well blocked. Barcelona are looking very bright at the moment. Who needs Messi?
6 mins: Oyarzabal gets the ball straight into his face from Dest. He bemoans the situation for a while but evetually gets up.
4 mins: Depay performs a lovely flick to outwit Aihen, who solves the problem by just pulling down the Dutchman.
2 mins: Braithwaite is slipped through within 30 seconds, he gets into the box and fires a powerful shot at goal but it is well held by Remiro.
Kick-off
Peep! Peep! Peep! Here we go!
The players are out and have just reminded me among all the shambles of this summer for Barcelona, that their kit is awful.
Real Madrid started well.
No Sergio Aguero today as he is out for 10 weeks following his move from Manchester City. Not as great summer overall for Barcelona.
Real Sociedad have their own tired man in the form of Mikel Oyarzabal who also did the Euros and Olympics. Seems a silly concept from the coaches to have them at both.
The fans are back.
Eric Garcia and Pedri have had long summers at the Euros and Olympics but they are here tonight. They must be tired.
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The Messi situation collection.
Sid Lowe
Jonathan Liew
Jonathan Wilson
New season vibes from Sid Lowe.
Barcelona have successfully registered Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay, so at least they have a competitive team out.
Starting lineups
Barcelona: Neto; Dest, Piqué, Eric García, Jordi Alba; Busquets, De Jong, Pedri; Griezmann, Braithwaite, Depay
Subs: Iñaki Peña, Arnau Tenas, Araujo, Riqui Puig, Rey Manaj, Lenglet, Sergi Roberto, Emerson Royal, Demir, Nico, Gavi, Balde
Real Sociedad: Remiro; Zaldua, Aritz, Le Normand, Aihen; Silva, Zubimendi, Merino; Januzaj, Portu, Oyarzabal
Subs: Ayesa, Illarramendi, Guevara, Gorosabel, Barrenetxea, Bautista, Pacheco, Turrientes, Navarro, Lobete
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Good evening
It is been a helluva summer for Barcelona; they have lost their best player due to financial turmoil and registering anyone else who could come close to replacing Lionel Messi has also descended into farce. On Saturday, they claimed Eric Garcia and Memphis Depay were all set to play today but LaLiga disagreed.
Players have been asked to cut their wages to help the club who are more than €1bn in debt. There is still a respectable squad at the Camp Nou but with everything going on around it, a title challenge looks unlikely at the moment. Fan resentment over Messi’s departure might not make their return to the ground for this match an enjoyable one.
Real Sociedad are a tough opposition for a side suffering an identity crisis, as no one knows which Barcelona will show up or how they will line up. The likes of David Silva, Alexander Isak and Mikel Oyarzabal are more than capable of making a mockery of Barcelona.
It will be fun to see what happens, that’s for sure.
