Barcelona cruised to a commanding 4-0 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad on Sunday, reclaiming their place at the top of La Liga in emphatic fashion.
An early red card for Aritz Elustondo handed Barça the advantage, and Hansi Flick’s men made no mistake, with Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araujo, and Robert Lewandowski all finding the net.
Atletico Madrid had briefly overtaken the Catalans after their win over Athletic Bilbao, but Barcelona’s dominant display ensured they regained pole position, while Real Madrid’s loss to Real Betis added to the drama in the title race.
Despite Sociedad’s early attacking intent, their momentum was cut short when Elustondo was sent off in the 17th minute for hauling down Dani Olmo as he broke through on goal. From that moment, it was all Barcelona.
Olmo set up Martin for the opener in the 25th minute, marking the youngster’s first-ever goal. Just four minutes later, Olmo’s wayward shot took a fortunate deflection off Casado, doubling Barcelona’s lead.
The second half saw Pedri rattle the crossbar before Araujo capitalized on a rebound to make it 3-0. Lewandowski then sealed the rout, cleverly redirecting Araujo’s low strike for his 21st league goal of the season.
With the Champions League last-16 clash against Benfica looming, Flick was able to rotate his squad while still delivering a statement win. Ferran Torres came close twice in the closing stages, but the four-goal margin was more than enough for Barcelona to end the weekend back on top of La Liga.
