Real Sociedad 1–1 Barcelona: Barca held,but still set up Clasico final with Real Madrid
Real Sociedad managed to hold Barcelona on the night but could not overturn the 2-0 deficit from the first leg of their Copa Del Rey semi-final, and the Catalans will contest the final of the competition against Real Madrid come April.
A wonder goal from Lionel Messi put Barcelona in a comfortable position to qualify for the finals of the Copa Del Rey. A late equalizer from Antoine Griezmann salvaged some pride from the home side but was ultimately inconsequential as Barcelona moved on to the finals of the competition.
It was clear from the outset that Real Sociedad were convinced that one goal would change the face of the match entirely, with the way they pressed and harried Barcelona’s backline, particularly Pinto in goal, who was forced to make a number of risky clearances as he was frequently faced with a charging bull in the form of a Real Sociedad player.
Seferovic was adjudged to have been offside in the 9th minute as he was put through on goal, but replays suggested that he was indeed kept onside by Dani Alves.
The home side were mounting a number of early attacks through Vela and Seferovic, and causing Barcelona considerable problems. Mascherano had to be alert enough to prevent Seferovic from getting on the end of Vela’s good cross into the box.
Barcelona were not entirely inactive, but their attacks were few and far between in the earlier stages, with the Catalans not appearing to be too worried about scoring goals, aware of their first leg lead.
In the 16th minute, Zurutuza shot wide after a corner kick eventually ended up falling to him at the top of the 18 yard box.
Real Sociedad were indeed far more productive when it came to generating attacks than their visitors, but Barcelona never appeared too concerned and they weathered the early storm only to strike through Lionel Messi in the 27th minute.
The Argentine picked up Jose Angel’s ball near the halfway line and darted off towards goal in the company of five Real Sociedad defenders. In a barely believable move, he somehow managed to find the space to get a shot off, and despite Zubikarai in goal getting his fingertips to it, the goalkeeper could only slow the ball down, not keep it out of the net.
Once that goal was scored, Barcelona started to move the ball around at pace, and chances for the home side became significantly less frequent. The pressing that had caused Barcelona a few problems early on was less intense as shoulders slumped and spirits dampened.
Griezmann pushed on along with Vela and Seferovic up front though, in an attempt to score before half time. The Frenchman was unable to get on the end of Vela’s cross, which cut through the Barcelona defence.
On the other end of the pitch, Zubikarai made a brilliant save to prevent Pedro from increasing Barcelona’s lead. The winger received a ball over the top of defence, and poked it towards goal, where the goalkeeper quickly spread himself to block the shot.
The second half started off in a similar fashion to the way the first had ended, and things seemed pretty subdued up until the 55th minute as Vela sent a shot crashing off the woodwork with Pinto well beaten. The Mexican had been played in on goal by a brilliant back heel from Xabi Prieto, and although the angle of the shot was not on, Vela turned and whacked it from distance and very nearly gave his side a lifeline.
In the 57th minute, Barcelona threatened La Real’s goal, and Zubikarai was somehow able to produce a string of unbelievable saves to deny both Fabregas as Messi at point blank range.
Griezmann was afforded another chance to give the home fans something to cheer about as Vela put him in on goal with a perfect pass. Mascherano though, had other plans as he tackled the Real Sociedad player and made it easy for Pinto to scoop up the loose ball.
As time slipped away, the tension slowly drained from the game is it was evident that there was no way back for Real Sociedad. During this point, there were half chances on both ends, but Barcelona probably had the better of them, as Zubikarai was called into action on far more occasions than Pinto on the other end of the pitch. He made a great save from Alves after the Brazilian had played a give and go with Messi in the 76th minute.
Pinto was put to task more towards the end of the match, also showing his ability to pull off amazing saves as he stopped Griezmann’s shot in the 83rd minute to keep his side in the lead.
Griezmann would end up getting his goal in fabulous style come the 87th minute. Sergio Canales set Castro free down the left wing, who pulled the ball back for the charging Griezmann. A rocket of a shot sent the ball smashing into the back of the net to tie things up on the night.
The result sets up a meeting with Real Madrid in the finals of the competition for Barcelona, due to be played in the Mestalla on the 19th of April. This weekend though, they have to handle Rayo Vallecano at the Camp Nou, while Real Sociedad face a trip to play Malaga.
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