Suarez, Messi ends Barcelona’s curse at Sociedad
Print Edition
Barcelona has broken its curse at Anoeta Stadium.
Luis Suarez scored twice before Lionel Messi completed Barcelona’s 4-2 comeback win at Real Sociedad on Sunday, giving the Catalan club its first league win at the Basque Country team since 2007. Barcelona was behind by two goals when Suarez set up Paulinho before halftime. The Uruguayan then scored twice in the second half to put the visitors ahead as heavy rain fell over the northern city of San Sebastian.
Messi secured the three points when he scored from a free-kick with five minutes remaining.
Barcelona reached the halfway point of the league season unbeaten and with a nine-point lead over second-place Atletico Madrid. Valencia trails by 11, and defending champion Real Madrid faces a massive 19-point deficit with a game in hand.
“Our bad run here in the league is finally over,” Suarez said. “This is the best way to finish the first half of the season, winning and doing so by turning around a match we were losing.”
The fightback ended Barcelona’s run of five losses and two draws in La Liga at Sociedad, a team that has consistently played at its best against the powerhouse.
Barcelona also extended its undefeated streak across all competitions this season to 29 straight games since losing the Spanish Super Cup to Madrid in August.
“What can I say? The numbers speak for themselves. We are happy with the season we are having, after the difficult start we had,” said Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde. “Now we have the second half of the season. We don’t rule out our rivals, but we only need to worry about what we will do. That’s the advantage of being in the lead.”
Sevilla’s winless streak reached five straight rounds after losing 0-1 at Alaves. It was Sevilla’s second consecutive loss in the league under Vincenzo Montella, the Italian coach who replaced the fired Eduardo Berizzo late last month.
Celta’s 1-0 win at Levante from Pione Sisto’s first-half goal was marred by an alleged incident of racial abuse between players. Levante midfielder Jefferson Lerma accused Celta Vigo striker Iago Aspas of using a racist slur to insult him.
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