La Liga, Aubameyang helps Barcelona beat Real Sociedad: Records broken
What's the story
Barcelona moved to the second spot in La Liga 2021-22 season after beating Real Sociedad 1-0. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang helped Barca seal victory. He scored a goal in the 11th minute. Barca have played a game lesser than toppers Real Madrid and could cut down the lead to 12 points. Real need four points to win the league title. Here's more.
Match
How did the match pan out?
Ex-Arsenal forward Auba scored with a close-range header after a cross by Ferran Torres, who too joined in the winter transfer window. Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a crucial save from Alexander Sorloth while Alexander Isak missed a glaring chance, shooting wide. In the second half, hosts Real Sociedad put a lot of pressure with Sorloth missing a couple of chances.
Context
Why does this story matter?
To see Xavi coming in and helping this Barca side climb up to second is a remarkable journey. Barca are the in-form side and they will now aim to seal second place to help overcome what was looking a difficult season ahead earlier. Aubameyang has been a superb signing and his experience stands out. The clean sheet will please Xavi the most.
Auba
Auba races to 11 goals for Barca
Auba has come in at Barca and delivered what was expected out of him. He scored his ninth La Liga goal in 11 games. Auba has 11 goals in total for Barca from 17 matches across competitions. His 11 goals have come in the last 14 games for Barca. As per Opta, this is as many as in his previous 34 games across competitions.
Numbers
Interesting numbers for the two clubs
Real Sociedad are winless in their last 12 matches against Barcelona in La Liga (D2 L10). As per Opta, this is their worst winless run against the Blaugrana in the competition since October 1960 (GP17 D3 L15). Barca registered 44.3% possession against Real Sociedad. This is their second lowest possession tally in a single La Liga game (44.3%) since the 2005-06 campaign.
Records
Notable records for Barcelona
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen made five saves against Real Sociedad. As per Squawka, this is the most he's made in a La Liga game this season. Auba equaled the likes of Romario, Ronaldo, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic to score 9+ goals in their first 11 league games for Barcelona. Barcelona are unbeaten in 13 away games, winning each of their last five in La Liga.
Do you know?
Crunch stats for Torres and Auba
Former Manchester City player Ferran Torres has now been directly involved in 13 goals in his 20 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona. Meanwhile, only Memphis Depay (10) has scored more La Liga goals for Barcelona this season than Aubameyang (9).