Real Sociedad 1-0 Barcelona: Becker stuns toothless Blaugrana as winning run ends

Barcelona’s seven-match winning streak was brought crashing to a halt on Sunday as Real Sociedad handed them a 1-0 defeat in LaLiga, courtesy of Sheraldo Becker’s goal.

Becker’s first-half strike was enough to deal Hansi Flick just his second league loss in charge of the Blaugrana, as they allowed title rivals Real Madrid to make up ground at the summit.

Becker beat Flick’s aggressive offside trap in the 33rd minute, racing onto a Luka Sucic header before slotting a tidy finish just inside the post.

With star winger Lamine Yamal absent due to a muscle injury, Barcelona struggled for chances after Robert Lewandowski saw an early strike chalked off for offside following a VAR review.

In truth, La Real were unfortunate not to win by a greater margin. Mikel Oyarzabal missed a glorious chance following good work from Takefusa Kubo just before half-time, with the home skipper also drawing Inaki Pena into action in the second period.

They ultimately did not need a second goal, however, and the victory takes them eighth in LaLiga with 19 points, six adrift of the top four.

Barcelona still lead the standings on 33 points, six ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand in second, while Atletico Madrid are third on 26 points.

Data Debrief: Blaugrana fire a blank

Barcelona could have no complaints about the result on Sunday, having failed to register a single shot on target.

It is just the second time they have failed to do so in LaLiga since Opta records began in 2003-04, after a goalless draw with Malaga in 2014 under Luis Enrique.

After scoring 29 goals across a seven-match winning run that included routs of Real Madrid (4-0), Bayern Munich (4-1), Sevilla (5-1), Young Boys (5-0) and Red Star Belgrade (5-2), the result represents a harsh reality check for Flick’s team.