Barcelona won a crucial 1-0 LaLiga match against Real Sociedad on Thursday, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring once again.
Aubameyang’s close-range header in the first half was his 11th goal in his last 14 games for Barcelona, equaling his total from his previous 34 appearances in all competitions.
It was enough to put an end to La Real’s seven-game unbeaten league run at Reale Arena, with Alexander Isak and Alexander Sorloth squandering chances.
With five games remaining, Barca moved up to second position, while La Real fell six points behind fourth-placed Atletico Madrid, putting doubt on their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
In the 11th minute, La Real conceded their first goal at home in eight league games. After Ousmane Dembele’s shot hit the post, Gavi kept the ball alive by finding Ferran Torres, who lifted a cross for Aubameyang to nod home.
Before Isak squandered a wonderful chance to equalize on the stroke of half-time, Frenkie de Jong, Torres, and Aubameyang all nearly missed the target.
Within two minutes of the restart, Barca were let off the hook once more as Sorloth flew over from inside the six-yard box after a fantastic delivery from Adnan Januzaj.
Objects were thrown in the direction of Gerard Pique from the stands, with the centre-back the target of their wrath following the emergence of disputed audio clips of him discussing a deal to shift the Supercopa de Espana to Saudi Arabia.
Pique continued after appearing to want a substitution in the first half, but Ronald Araujo suffered a knee injury in the 55th minute, ending his season.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept Sorloth and Januzaj at bay, and Gavi squandered a chance to put the game to bed, but Xavi’s men held on for a crucial three points.
Source: livescore news.
