BLOCK! Barcelona go for the kill as Messi weaves his way into the box. He cannot find space for a strike nor can Coutinho. Suarez takes over and smashes the ball towards goal, but it's charged down by a wall of blue and white shirts.
90'
There will be three minutes of added time.
89'
Barcelona have been made to work hard in this match. It's afternoon's like this that can make the difference in the title race. They've not been at their best.
87'
S. Umtiti gets yellow.
Umtiti fouls Bautista and goes into the book.
86'
WHAT A MISS! Juanmi misses a glorious opportunity to level the scores. Merino does brilliantly to carve out the opening with a neat turn and lofted pass to the forward. He pulls off into space behind Pique and Umtiti, but he can only glance his header wide of the post. With the chances he has had Juanmi could have won the game for the hosts.
84'
OFFSIDE! Oyarzabal sends a pass out wide for the run of Sangalli and he curls a cross to the back post for the unmarked Juanmi. The striker fails to connect with a powerful strike, scuffing his effort at Ter Stegen. Fortunately for Juanmi, he was offside anyway.
82'
Sangalli enters the game and replaces Rubén Pardo.
Mikel Merino enters the game and replaces Illarramendi.
Sangalli replaces Pardo for the home side.
llarramendi is replaced by Merino.
81'
Messi looks for the quick pass through to Suarez, but Rulli reads the danger and comes off his line to gather ahead of the forward.
79'
OVER! Messi breaks forward down the right and he cuts inside to power an effort towards the target, only to fire his strike over the bar.
Minute
Description
77'
A. Vidal enters the game and replaces O. Dembélé.
Dembele is withdrawn for the visitors and is replaced by Vidal.
76'
Dembele makes a surging run from the midfield and he looks for an offload to Coutinho, but he just cannot thread his pass through the two Sociedad centre-backs.
75'
Barcelona are knocking the ball around with ease on the pitch. They're in command of the contest now.
73'
Jon Bautista enters the game and replaces Zurutuza.
Zurutuza makes way for Bautista as the home side begin their quest for an equaliser.
72'
Sociedad have fallen apart at the back in the second half amid the pressure from the visitors. It has been unrelenting from the Catalan club.
70'
WIDE! Hernandez scuffs his clearance in the box and it falls for Suarez, who tries a spectacular overhead kick. He gets a decent connection on his effort, but it travels wide of the post as Rulli scrambles across his line.
68'
Barcelona's pressure has paid off, although they were close on two occasions to going 2-0 down. Ter Stegen's saves look all the more important now.
66'
O. Dembélé has scored a goal for Barcelona!
GOALLLLLLLLL!!!!! DEMBELE SCORES!!!! BARCELONA LEAD 2-1!!!! The Catalan club come from behind to take the advantage at the Anoeta. Once again Rulli is suspect from a corner as he fails to punch clear. He misses his clearance at the back post, falling backwards leaving an empty net. Dembele pounces on the loose ball in the box and fires a volley towards goal. It takes a deflecton off Zubeldia to find the back of the net. What a turnaround.
65'
SAVE! Coutinho cuts in from the left flank to power an effort towards the top corner on his right foot. His strike appears to bending towards the top corner, but Rulli gets across to turn the ball past the post.
63'
L. Suárez has scored a goal for Barcelona! Assist by S. Umtiti.
Umtiti nudges the ball towards Suarez, who does the rest from close range.
GOALLLLLLLLLL!!!! SUAREZ EQUALISES!!! 1-1!!!! The Uruguayan gets the visitors back on level terms with a close-range finish. Barca earned a corner down the left and Pique won the first header to cause havoc in the box. Rulli came for the punch, but he missed with the connection. Umtiti knocked the ball towards Suarez on the line and the forward made no mistake from close range.
62'
STOP! Sociedad launch another counter down the right as Oyarzabal releases the run of Juanmi into the middle. He goes for the low strike, but Ter Stegen makes a block with his leg to prevent the home side notching a second goal.
61'
SAVE! Messi drifts into space on the edge of the box and pulls the trigger on a left-footed strike. However, he drills his effort straight at Rulli.
CHANCE! Hernandez raids down the left on a counter and he has only Ter Stegen to beat. The full-back gets power on his strike, but he blasts the ball straight at the Barcelona keeper who makes the stop.
60'
CHANCE! Sociedad break away down the left through Pardo and he opts to hit an early offload out wide to Oyarzabal. The forward takes a decent first touch, but his second is poor as he blasts his effort over the bar.
59'
Messi tries to turn into space, but he gets crowded out before he can break away, with Zurutuza making the challenge.
57'
Sergio Busquets enters the game and replaces Rafinha.
Busquets comes on for the visitors to replace Rafinha. This will allow Rakitic to push forward.
56'
Barcelona are once again frustrated in their attempt to build a rhythm. The home side are doing a solid job of keeping them at arms length.
54'
Illarramendi whips the ball into the box, and although Moreno wins the header, it proves to be an easy claim for Ter Stegen.
53'
A rare mistake from Pique at the back as he overhits his backpass straight out for a corner. Ter Stegen tried to reach it on the slide, but was beaten by the pace of the ball.
51'
Messi slides a pass between the lines searching for Suarez's run, but the striker is just beaten out by Moreno, although the referee awards a foul against the Uruguayan anyway.
49'
Sociedad cannot afford just to sit back here. Barca found their rhythm at the end of the first half and were beginning to up the ante. A similar spell of pressure could yield an equaliser.
47'
Suarez attempts to break through the Sociedad defensive line, but he overruns the ball out for a goal-kick under pressure from Elustondo.
46'
Philippe Coutinho enters the game and replaces Nélson Semedo.
We're back underway at the Anoeta.
Coutinho does indeed come on at the break, replacing Semedo, which will see Sergi Roberto drop into right-back.
45' +1
HALF-TIME: REAL SOCIEDAD 1-0 BARCELONA
45'
There will be one minute of added time.
43'
Illarramendi gets yellow.
NO PENALTY! The VAR referee decides that there was not enough contact to bring Pique down for a spot-kick. Dembele will whip the corner into the box.
Illarramendi brings down Rafinha on the surge and goes into the book.
OVER! Sociedad clear the cross from the left, although only as far as Rakitic. The midfielder goes for the rasping strike from distance, but he sends his effort narrowly over the crossbar. That was a decent effort from Rakitic that had Rulli concerned.
41'
Messi floats the ball into the box for the run of Rafinha, but Moreno is well placed to head behind for a corner.
40'
Illarramendi brings down Suarez on the charge and hands a free-kick to Barcelona 35 yards from goal.
39'
Messi tries to force the ball into the feet of Dembele on the edge of the box. However, it is just off target by an inch, forcing the Frenchman to stretch for it and he is unable to bring it under control.
37'
Dembele is starting to break into good areas for the visitors, but on this occasion Zaldua tracks his movement to prevent further danger for the home side.
36'
WIDE! Barcelona win a corner on the left flank and Dembele sends the ball into the middle. Pique gets above his man to head at goal, but he directs his attempt narrowly wide of the post.
34'
Hernandez breaks forward down the left and fires a low cross into the box. It's played into a good area, but there's no one from the home side gambling on the delivery.
32'
Dembele tries to turn the ball around the corner looking for the run of Suarez, but the ball skips out of play for a goal-kick.
30'
Barcelona are finding no joy through the middle of the lines. It will increase the pressure on Semedo and Alba to provide support down the flanks.
28'
Oyarzabal has space to break through the middle, but he cannot complete his offload to Juanmi in space down the left flank.
27'
Barcelona are encamped in the Sociedad half, but cannot find a way through the solid defensive line.
25'
Messi looks to arc a pass over the top of the Sociedad defence for the run of Rafinha, but the Argentine overhits the lofted offload into the box out for a goal-kick.
23'
Sociedad are working extremely hard all over the pitch. They've got the lead and are looking confident in their play.
21'
Barcelona are not having it their own way inside the opening 20 minutes. The home side have been combative in the middle of the park, making Messi and Suarez work hard to earn space.
19'
Messi hooks a ball forward for the run of Suarez. The Uruguayan reaches the offload, but he cannot force his way forward to goal, crossing instead for Dembele, but Zaldua gets back to head clear.
18'
The atmosphere inside the Anoeta is incredible. The home fans have not stopped chanting since the teams emerged from the tunnel.
16'
Pardo makes a good run down the right flank and he finds support on the edge of the box from Juanmi. However, the forward scuffs his effort at goal, allowing the visitors to clear the danger.
14'
Barcelona were just starting to build a rhythm, but have been pegged back by the home side. Sociedad did take the lead last year, but went on to lose 4-2 to the Catalan club...
12'
Elustondo has scored a goal for Real Sociedad!
GOALLLLLLLLLLL!!!! ELUSTONDO FIRES SOCIEDAD AHEAD!!! The home side take the lead through a stunner from Elustondo. He latches on to Moreno's knockdown from the resulting free-kick. The Sociedad defender does not hesitate with his effort. Elustondo puts his left boot through the ball on the half-volley smashing it past Ter Stegen with the aid of the post.
11'
Sergi Roberto brings down Oyarzabal on the charge and hands a free-kick to the home side.
9'
Barcelona are attempting to build a rhythm to their play to get a foothold in the contest for the first time this afternoon.
8'
Semedo breaks down the right and fires a low cross into the box. There's no player there for the visitors as Moreno clears behind for a corner.
6'
Suarez tries to get the better of Elustondo down the left inside channel, but the defender holds firm before Rulli collects the loose ball.
5'
Dembele loses out to Zaldua on the left flank as he tries to beat the Sociedad full-back. However, the hosts once again the remain in control of possession.
4'
Barcelona are struggling to get a foothold in the contest as the home side are dictating the tempo at the moment.
2'
The home side start on the front foot and are moving the ball well around the pitch without putting Barca under pressure.
1'
We're underway at the Anoeta.
Good afternoon and welcome to the live commentary of the LaLiga clash between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta.
Real Sociedad enjoyed a decent start to the season, defeating Villarreal in their opener before drawing against Leganes. However, they lost their last match against Eibar to a late goal from Charles. They now return home for the first time in the campaign, facing a huge test against the reigning champions.
Barcelona have made an imperious start to the term, winning all three of their matches. Ernesto Valverde's men brushed aside Alaves and Real Valladolid in their opening two matches. Huesca stunned Barca by taking an early lead at the Camp Nou last time out. However, Barca's response was emphatic, cruising to an 8-2 triumph before the international break.
Let's take a look at the two teams this afternoon, starting with the home side.
Real Sociedad subs: Mikel Merino, Miguel Angel Moya, Andoni Gorosabel, Kevin Rodrigues, Juan Bautista, Raul Navas, Luca Sangalli.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Nelson Semedo, Gerard Pique, Samuel Umtiti, Jordi Alba; Sergi Roberto, Ivan Rakitic, Rafinha; Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Ousmane Dembele.
Barcelona subs: Sergio Busquets, Philippe Coutinho, Jasper Cillessen, Clement Lenglet, Munir El Haddadi, Arturo Vidal, Thomas Vermaelen.
Sociedad have made two changes to their side from their defeat to Eibar last time out. Zurutuza and Pardo come into the fold to replace Sangalli and Willian Jose as Asier Gaitano opts to change his system for the visit of Barca.
Imanol Agirretxe, who was forced to retire due to injury, has been honoured by the home fans ahead of kick-off.
There are two changes for Barca to their side from their win over Huesca. Semedo comes into the team at right-back, which sees Sergi Roberto move forward into the midfield. Rafinha replaces Coutinho in the middle of the park, with the Brazilian dropping to the bench.
Ernesto Valverde will not be pleased with his side's performance in the first half. They've been too passive in possession and have lacked their usual clinical edge in the final third. Philippe Coutinho could be called for in the second period.
Real Sociedad take a narrow lead over Barcelona into the break thanks to Aritz Elustondo's strike. The defender rifled a left-footed volley into the net early in the contest, latching on to Hector Moreno's knockdown from a free-kick. Barcelona have struggled to create a clear-cut opening to break back into the contest. Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi have been stifled, although there were signs of life towards the end of the half.
Thanks for joining our commentary this afternoon. Until next time, goodbye.
Barcelona secure a comeback win over Real Sociedad to maintain their 100 per cent record to start the LaLiga season. The Catalan club had to work hard for their victory after Aritz Elustondo put the home side ahead at the Anoeta. Two vital saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept the visitors in the game before Luis Suarez equalised following a mistake by Geronimo Rulli at a corner. Ousmane Dembele put his team in front three minutes later, which proved to be the decisive strike in the contest. Juanmi could have snatched a point for Sociedad late on, only to place his header wide of the post.
REAL SOCIEDAD (4-3-1-2): Geronimo Rulli; Joseba Zaldua, Aritz Elustondo, Hector Moreno, Theo Hernandez; Asier Illarramendi, Igor Zubeldia, Ruben Pardo; David Zurutuza; Juanmi, Mikel Oyarzabal.
Commentary
More…