Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad: Winners and Losers from La Liga

Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 2-0 at Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon, stretching their lead of La Liga to five points before Real Madrid played against Valencia later in the afternoon.

It was by no means a vintage Barcelona display, and that's thanks to the hard work of the Basque side.

Here are the winners and losers from the match in the 36th gameweek of the season.

Winner: Geronimo Rulli

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

In midweek, we saw Manuel Neuer make several brilliant saves as Bayern Munich tried to keep Barcelona at bay. 

This time, it was the turn of the wonderfully named Geronimo Rulli to frustrate the Catalan giants.

He made an excellent stop from Lionel Messi's looping header and another when Neymar fired at goal from close range. Gerard Pique tried to beat him twice, but Rulli stood up well to the defender's efforts too. 

He started the second half in similar fashion, showing quick reflexes to tip Marc Bartra's header round the post.

Eventually, though, he was beaten, when Neymar got free at the back post and nodded in Messi's deflected cross. He also had no chance with Pedro's second.

Losers: Real Madrid

Oscar del Pozo/Associated Press

When it comes to the crunch part of the season, fans are left hoping for favours from other sides. 

Real Madrid supporters probably didn't have too much faith in Real Sociedad to get a result against the Spanish champions elect, but this result was still a blow for the Blancos faithful.

David Moyes' La Real earned an excellent 1-0 win over Barcelona earlier this season at Anoeta, which sent Luis Enrique's men into a week of crisis.

They emerged from that stronger than before.

Madrid would have been hoping Moyes could do the double over Barcelona, could go to Camp Nou and get a result of the sort that Celta Vigo and Malaga managed earlier this season.

However, Barcelona were far too strong for Real Sociedad and, after Madrid's draw later in the day, are just one win away from La Liga triumph.

Winner: David Moyes

David Ramos/Getty Images

This was a brave performance from Real Sociedad, and despite a worse result, they can be as pleased with their job as the one they did on Barcelona at Anoeta.

David Moyes has given Luis Enrique and the Blaugrana two tough games this season, beating them 1-0 in San Sebastian and being stubborn and hard to break down here.

Lionel Messi showed how truly unstoppable he is against Bayern Munich, but he couldn't add to his 40 league goals on Saturday.

Overall, Moyes will be happy with his first season in Spanish football, and compared to how his team were beaten away at Real Madrid (4-1), this was much more comfortable for the Scot.

Loser: Inigo Martinez

David Ramos/Getty Images

Spanish centre-back Inigo Martinez has the potential to go far. The 23-year-old has been in the national squad since 2013, and most think he has a big future ahead of him.

However, he endured an extremely uncomfortable afternoon—on a personal level—at Camp Nou.

There's no shame in this, given how good Lionel Messi is, but Martinez had a Jerome Boateng moment on Saturday.

With Messi running at him, Martinez tried to stand up, but then the Argentinian flicked the ball in a different direction and left the Real Sociedad man flailing in a heap.

He was also lucky not to concede a penalty for a handball in the first half, and it was his head that flicked Messi's cross into Neymar's path for the opener.

Winner: Pedro

David Ramos/Getty Images

Barcelona forward Pedro has not been given many chances this season, with Luis Suarez, Neymar and Messi hogging the limelight and the minutes up top. 

However, Luis Enrique has always sung his praises and said he can contribute to Barcelona's efforts to win the treble.

And now he has. Coming on to replace Rafinha, Pedro found his team in a time of need.

Tension was high, with one Real Sociedad goal seemingly able to wreck Barcelona's title challenge. If they had drawn and Madrid won against Valencia, the capital side would top the league on head-to-head record.

But Pedro reacted sharply to a blocked Lionel Messi cross, acrobatically scissor-kicking it past Geronimo Rulli and into the net, pulling Barcelona closer to the title.