Real Sociedad vs. Barcelona: Winners and Losers from Liga Game
Real Sociedad held on to record a 1-0 victory over Barcelona, starting 2015 with a win in La Liga and denying their Catalan opponents the chance to go top of the table in the process.
It took only a minute and a half for the only goal of the game to go in as Jordi Alba headed into his own net following a corner from the right side, and while Barcelona brought on the likes of Lionel Messi and Neymar for the second half, they couldn't find an equaliser.
Here are all of our winners and losers from the game.
Loser: Munir
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Barcelona opted to hand another start to young forward Munir, but once more, it was a disappointing evening for the one-cap Spain international.
In truth, he has shown nothing of note to suggest he should be part of the Barcelona squad at this time, and like in his previous appearance in La Liga, Munir was subbed at half-time after an ineffective 45 minutes of play.
Messi was the man to replace him.
Winner: Sergio Canales
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Attacking midfielder Sergio Canales has been largely impressive this season and showed both sides of his game as La Real took the win over Barcelona.
In the first half, his side had several opportunities moving forward, with Canales constructing play in the final third, dictating to those around him to move into space and trying to support forward Carlos Vela in the penalty area. Twice he made good space in dangerous positions for himself, including leaving Martin Montoya looking silly in the box, and he managed Sociedad's only real shot on target with a low drive.
After the break, it was a more workmanlike performance from Canales, but he closed down well, tracked runners back and supported the midfield to ensure his side were hard to break down.
Loser: Luis Enrique
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With Real Madrid losing earlier in the day, the late kick-off had to be seen as a perfect opportunity for Barcelona to pile on the pressure and go atop La Liga with a victory.
It was to the immense dismay of many Barcelona fans, then, when the teamsheets were announced—and Neymar, Lionel Messi and Dani Alves were all left on the bench.
With the opening goal being conceded after less than 90 seconds, the pressure was immediately on manager Luis Enrique and Barcelona because of that selection, and he ended up bringing on both forwards before the hour mark, with Alves following midway inside the second half.
No goals arrived, and the boss will be under big scrutiny for this performance and result on the back of two weeks off.
Winner: Inigo Martinez
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Real Sociedad centre-back Inigo Martinez was superb in defence for his team.
Whether faced with Neymar, Suarez or Messi, Martinez made sure he defended with aggression and timing, tenacity and consistency. He made one fantastic tackle to deny Messi a clear scoring shot and made numerous clearing headers to prevent others from getting on the end of crosses.
It was an all-round good day for the Martinezes, with right-back Carlos also putting in a top performance.
Winner: Atletico Madrid
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The big winner at the top end of La Liga this weekend has to be Atletico Madrid.
After a win on Saturday, manager Diego Simeone must be feeling rather smug right now; his side took maximum points while the top two both lost.
It means that once again, just a single point separates the top three in Spain as Atleti attempt to retain their title.
