Missed Chance

A corner was taken short to Sergio Canales, who whipped in a left-footed cross that Alba could only head into his own net

Barcelona
missed the chance to top La Liga at Real Sociedad on Sunday evening.

Real Madrid  2-1 loss at Valencia earlier in the day meant victory for the Catalan giant would have seen it climb to the top of La Liga.

Defeat also ended their 11-match unbeaten run.

I wondered why Luis Enrique left Lionel Messi and Neymar on the bench for the start of this match, after both men had been given an extra two days of break during the Christmas period and returned to the club later than the rest of the squad.

A corner was taken short to Canales who whipped it in a left footed cross that Alba put to his own net.
The visitor's first effort  did not arrive until the 21st minute, when Xavi curled a 25-yard free-kick narrowly over the crossbar.

Four minutes later Luis Suarez burst forward and fed Pedro, who blazed off-target with the angle against him.

Barca thought they should have had a penalty on the half hour when Pedro's cross took a deflection and struck the left arm of Inigo Martinez, but referee Carlos Del Cerro waved away the appeals.

Although the visitor was dominating possession, former Real man Canales was proving a threat on the counter-attack, and he brought a smart stop out of Bravo at his near post after leaving Martin Montoya on his backside with an adroit turn inside the penalty area.

Sociedad goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli kept out Pedro's effort with his legs as Barca continued to press for an equalizer.

The visitor maintained its dominance after the interval and Andres Iniesta fired over the bar in the 59th minute.



As the game entered the final five minutes, Rulli raced from his line to get a fingertip on the ball as Suarez attempted to go round him and score, and the keeper then reacted smartly to keep out the Uruguayan's header.