La Liga: Barcelona Thrash 10-Man Real Sociedad to Reclaim Top Spot

Barcelona fought their way back to the top of La Liga as they cruised to a thumping 4-0 home win against Real Sociedad on Sunday at the Estadi Olímpic.

Barça turned the tables in their favour in the opening minutes of the game when Sociedad's Aritz Elustondo received his marching orders after just the 17th minute for a foolish tackle on Dani Olmo, reducing Sociedad to ten men for the rest of the game.

With their numbers, Barcelona did not waste time taking charge, gaining a vital victory that now places them two points clear of Atlético Madrid. Real Madrid, on the other hand, fell to third, three points behind after losing to Real Betis yesterday.

Sociedad began to display attacking intentions, even getting the ball into the net and hitting the crossbar—though both were disallowed as offside. Their prospects of pulling off an upset were, however, extinguished after Elustondo's sending off, handing the initiative completely over to Barcelona.

Teenager Gerard Martin opened the scoring in style, scoring his first professional goal after a brilliant combination by Lamine Yamal and Olmo. Olmo then scored himself, profiting from a botched clearance by Sociedad goalkeeper Álex Remiro. His shot, deflected by Marc Casadó, crawled into the net, doubling Barça's lead before half-time.

Barcelona’s dominance continued in the second half. Ronald Araújo, making his mark after returning from injury, found the net with a header following a rebound from Robert Lewandowski’s shot. The Polish striker then added the finishing touch to the rout, scoring his 11th goal of 2025 by capitalizing on a rebound from Araújo’s powerful long-range strike.

With their La Liga business for the weekend completed, Barcelona now turn attention to their all-important UEFA Champions League Round of 16 against Benfica on Thursday. Real Sociedad, meanwhile, will look forward to their Europa League encounter against Manchester United.