Real Sociedad 2-1 Barcelona: VAR and woodwork ignite LaLiga at Anoeta

A total of 23 shots, 9 of them on target, were not enough for FC Barcelona to salvage at least 1 point from their visit to Real Sociedad (2-1). Three disallowed goals and five shots hitting the post, in addition to a brilliant performance by Álex Remiro with 8 saves, left the Catalan team empty-handed on a matchday full of controversy

The Catalans went into halftime trailing after a first half dominated by VAR. Two highly controversial goals disallowed for Barça and a goal by Mikel Oyarzabal preceded by a foul infuriated Flick's team after 45 minutes of clear superiority marred by highly disputed refereeing

In the second half, Marcus Rashford equalized in the 70th minute, but Gonçalo Guedes, a minute later, restored the home team's lead. In the end, the match finished 2-1, a result that has nothing to do with the flow of the game and was clearly influenced by the referee's decisions

Controversial goal disallowed for Fermín at the start of the match

Hansi Flick recovered his star midfield, with Frenkie de Jong, Pedri González, and Fermín López from the start. Dani Olmo took Raphinha's place as a left winger, while Eric García returned to the center of defense. 

The match began at a frantic pace. **Mikel Oyarzabal**, clearly offside, scored before the first minute was up. Immediately after, Barça came close to a 0-1 with a counter-attack led by **Lamine Yamal** and finished with a high header from **Pedri**, after a short rebound from **Álex Remiro** to a shot from the '8' as he entered the box.In the 7th minute, however, the scoring would open. **An interception by Olmo on Kubo** left Fermín free in the middle, well-positioned to unleash a powerful right-footed shot, unstoppable for Remiro

The Real protested a supposed foul by Dani on the Japanese striker and, after the VAR call, Jesús Gil Manzano decided to disallow the goal for a very questionable stomp by the '20' from Barça

Lamine Yamal also had no luck with VAR

Lamine Yamal offside against Real Sociedad

Barça maintained possession and continued to threaten the opponent's area. Fermín, with a cross, almost set up Olmo in the 15th minute, but the pass was too powerful. Frenkie de Jong, in the 21st minute, scored after a great pass from Pedri, but the Dutchman was clearly offside.

**Lamine Yamal's offside call** in the 27th minute would be much tighter. The '10' took advantage of a loose ball inside the box after a dispute between Igor Zubeldia and Jules Koundé to unleash a powerful shot past Remiro.The player from Mataró had his right foot ahead at the start of the play, but **it was not clear if the ball came from a touch by Zubeldia or Koundé** to set up the shot for Lamine. After a couple of minutes of review, Del Cerro Grande confirmed the initial decision: offside and possession for La Real.

Mikel Oyarzabal put Real ahead with 'help' from the referee

In the 32nd minute, the first goal of the match finally came, in favor of Real Sociedad. **A steal by Jon Aramburu on Dani Olmo, with a clear push from the full-back on the midfielder**, led to a cross from **Gonçalo Guedes** from the right that Oyarzabal, on the volley, finished first-time to put the home side ahead.

Hansi Flick and Marcus Sorg asked for a review of the foul on Olmo, but this time there was no call from Carlos del Cerro Grande to Gil Manzano. The VAR once again played a leading role in stoppage time, pointing out Lamine's offside position prior to a clear penalty by Zubeldia on the '10'. Barça was clearly superior, but went into halftime down 1-0 at Anoeta.

❌⚽️ THREE GOALS DISALLOWED FOR FC BARCELONA IN 21 MINUTES! pic.twitter.com/ACqC2bJipk

— DAZN Fútbol (@DAZNFutbol) January 18, 2026

Posts and Remiro saved Real Sociedad in the second half

The pace after the break remained extremely high. Oyarzabal warned with a shot across goal that went slightly wide, while Dani Olmo hit the post twice in consecutive minutes, the second after a miraculous save by Remiro.

La Real struggled in defense, but Remiro did enough to preserve the clean sheet. In the 51st minute, the Basque goalkeeper was once again the star with a great save against Ferran Torres, who shot freely near the penalty spot, but his effort was too central.

In the 62nd minute, Hansi Flick made a substitution, bringing on **Marcus Rashford**, **Robert Lewandowski**, and debutant Joao Cancelo for Olmo, Ferran, and Balde, respectively. In the 65th minute, 'Lewy' almost scored with a header after a perfect cross from Yamal, but Remiro made an incredible save, sending the ball to the crossbar

Rashford equalized, but Guedes immediately restored the home advantage

Marcus Rashford scored the 1-1 in the 70th minute

In the 70th minute, Barcelona could finally celebrate a goal they had deserved for a long time. **Lamine, with another cross from his left 'glove', set up Rashford**, who headed past Remiro's resistance to make it 1-1.

However, the joy lasted less than a minute for the blaugrana side. After kicking off, a long ball surprised Koundé and Carlos Soler went through alone on the left. Joan García saved the midfielder's powerful shot, but the ball fell to Gonçalo Guedes and the Portuguese player finished into an empty net

La Real, after the 2-1, launched into attack. Oyarzabal wasted an incredible headed chance in the 73rd minute and Barrenetxea nearly scored again into an empty net in the 75th, but Cubarsí cleared off the line with his head. 

Barça had ten minutes of confusion, but in the 84th minute, a great cross from Cancelo almost made it 2-2, were it not for another goal-saving crossbar for Real. Koundé headed at will between the center-backs, but the post sent the ball back into Remiro's hands.

Bitter defeat for Barça at Anoeta for the second consecutive season

Just after, Flick brought on Roony Bardghji and Gerard Martín for Fermín López and Pau Cubarsí. Cancelo moved to the right flank and Frenkie de Jong dropped to the center alongside Eric García, with Barça completely pushed forward in attack.

In the 87th minute, **a nasty tackle by Carlos Soler on Pedri** resulted in the expulsion of the '18' from San Sebastián, after VAR alerted Gil Manzano. Already in stoppage time, another post saved the home side, this time from a corner from the left served by Rashford

The Catalan siege was total in the nine minutes added by Gil Manzano, with a 'txuri-urdin' team physically exhausted and numerically disadvantaged. However, Barça lacked clarity to even score the equalizer and, for the second consecutive season, leaves San Sebastián empty-handed.

Now, **Barça is the leader with only a 1-point advantage over Real Madrid** after 21 matchdays. Next week, the Catalans host Oviedo (Sunday, 16:15) and the Whites visit Villarreal (Saturday, 21:00 CEST)

Match Report: Real Sociedad 2-1 FC Barcelona

• Real Sociedad, 2: Remiro; Aramburu (Caleta-Car, min. 81), Zubeldia, Jon Martín, Sergio Gómez (Aihen Muñoz, min. 68); Turrientes (Gorrotxa, min. 58), Soler, Brais Méndez (Odriozola, min. 58); Guedes, Take Kubo (Barenetxea, min. 68) and Oyarzabal.
• FC Barcelona, 1: Joan Garcia; Koundé (Roony, min. 85), Cubarsí (Gerard Martín, min. 85), Eric García, Balde (Cancelo, min. 62); De Jong, Pedri; Lamine Yamal, Olmo (Rashford, min. 62), Fermín; Ferran Torres (Lewandowski, min. 62).
• Goals: 1-0, Mikel Oyarzabal (min. 32); 1-1, Marcus Rashford (min. 70); 2-1, Gonçalo Guedes (min. 71)
• Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano. He disallowed a goal by Fermín López in the 7th minute after a very dubious foul by Dani Olmo. In the 28th minute, he also disallowed another goal by Lamine Yamal for a debatable offside. He validated a goal by Mikel Oyarzabal in the 32nd minute preceded by a clear foul by Jon Aramburu on Dani Olmo. In the 45+4th minute, he disallowed a penalty for Lamine Yamal due to a previous offside by the '10'. For Real Sociedad, he cautioned Beñat Turrientes, Jon Aramburu and Barrenetxea. In the 87th minute, he sent off Carlos Soler for a hard foul on Pedri, after a VAR review. 

  At Barça, he issued warnings to Eric García, Fermín López and Robert Lewandowski.

• Stadium: Anoeta (San Sebastián).
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 20 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.