FC Barcelona drew 1-1 against Real Sociedad last night as their worst La Liga run since Frank Rijkaard's regime continues. The Catalans paid a visit to their most dreaded stadium in San Sebastian, while Sociedad deserved more than a draw. Barcelona had their luck as they snatched a point from Sociedad despite playing almost second fiddle to the hosts.
Barcelona have their worst away record at the Anoeta and the supporters will now have to wait till the next season with a hope of breaking that jinx. Real Sociedad climbed up to fifth spot with a draw against Barcelona while the Catalans are now six points adrift of table toppers Real Madrid.
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Let's take a look at the five talking points from the dramatic encounter between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona:
#1 The curse goes on
Anoeta has not been Barcelona’s favoured ground and they have always seemed to struggle at this stadium. Many have tried to find out the explanation behind it but there is no denying the fact that Sociedad have emerged as Barcelona's bogey team in the last decade.
The Catalans last won here in 2007 with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova, Tata Martino and now Luis Enrique failing to beat the Basque club.
Luis Enrique has his worst record against them losing twice against Sociedad with Barcelona and once with Celta Vigo. The dreaded run now stretches to eight games with Barcelona being absolutely hammered by the hosts last night and the Catalans were saved by a moment of magic from Neymar and a clinical finish from Lionel Messi.
#2 Real Sociedad were robbed of a victory by the referee
The hosts were in complete control of the game from the first minute as they ran Barcelona ragged. Sociedad were absolutely sensational in the first half but it was evident that they had forgotten to put on their finishing boots. Despite creating many chances, Sociedad failed to put the ball in Ter Stegen's net more than once.
An incident in the 76th minute could have given Sociedad all three points as Carlos Vela found some space on the right and hit a venomous shot with Barca keeper Ter Stegen beaten comfortably. The ball hit the upright and could have been behind the line before Juanmi slotted it into the goal.
The linesman ruled it as offside despite Gerrard Pique playing him on clearly and boos rung out at the stadium after the crowd saw the replay on the big screen in the stadium.
#3 Neymar's week finally has a good end
The Brazilian's eventful week started with Spanish prosecutors giving him a two-year jail sentence on corruption charges. He then had an altercation with Celtic’s Mikael Lustig in their Champions League game.
Neymar also collided with Barcelona assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue in training, though both were fine. Yesterday as Neymar was driving his Ferrari Spider to the training ground before flying to San Sebastian, he crashed his car into a safety barrier but fortunately was not injured in the accident.
His week was somewhat made better with his inspired performance in the second half as his brilliant run down the left was the catalyst for Barcelona. He blitzed past two opponents before delivering an inch-perfect pass to Messi as he proved to be Barcelona's saving grace.
#4 Eusebio passed his Barcelona audition with flying colours
Real Sociedad manager Eusebio Sacristan is being touted as the man who could take over the reigns from Luis Enrique. The Barcelona manager's contract expires at the end of this season and he has avoided any talk of his extension in press conferences. Looking at Barcelona's faltering league campaign, Enrique is going to find it tough to stay with the Catalans.
Eusebio lined his side up in perfect fashion to play against Barcelona and give them a taste of their own medicine. Sociedad dominated the game by keeping the ball for long intervals and creating a number of goalscoring opportunities.
The former Barcelona B manager had an average stint with the B team but his Sociedad side are doing wonders this season. They were better than Barcelona in every department which has made Eusebio's case even stronger for the Barcelona post when Luis Enrique parts company with his beloved team.
#5 Luis Enrique makes a puzzling substitution
Enrique opted to play Andre Gomes ahead of Dennis Suarez as the Portuguese looks like a player who the manager prefers over the young Spaniard, having also started in their Champions League game against Manchester City.
Gomes could not influence the game yet it was Ivan Rakitic who made way in the second half for Dennis Suarez.
Suarez made a huge impact but it should have been Gomes who should have been replaced as he failed as he wasn’t influential on the game and also lost possession on a number of occasions. Luis Enrique described the draw as a miracle but it could have been a different story had Suarez started the game or Gomes been benched for the second half.
