Barcelona put in a brilliant display against fifth-placed Real Sociedad on Sunday, winning 6-1 to keep the pressure on league leaders Atletico Madrid.

It took a while for the game to get going. The first chance fell to the hosts when Alexander Isak took advantage of a poor pass by Frenkie de Jong. The Swede cut inside from the left and forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen into an important save.

Barcelona weren’t showing much threat but almost took the lead through some generous goalkeeping. Sergino Dest’s mishit cross appeared to be heading straight into the arms of goalkeeper Alex Remiro, but the Spaniard spilled the ball onto his own crossbar.

However, the visitors took the lead a minute later in familiar fashion. Lionel Messi fed the ball to Jordi Alba down the left. The full-back’s low cross was squandered by Ousmane Dembele, but Antoine Griezmann was on hand to smash home from close range.

Real Sociedad almost got themselves level immediately. Isak again was the beneficiary of a misplaced pass by Ter Stegen, but the German produced a strong right hand to stop his low drive.

Shortly before half time, La Blaugrana doubled their lead. Sergio Busquets found Messi, who weaved forward and slipped a pass through to Dest. The young American slammed a shot into the far corner for his first La Liga goal.

Within ten minutes of the restart, Ronald Koeman’s men were out of sight. Dest managed to notch again, this time tapping in from Alba’s cut back.

Of course, it wouldn’t be long before Messi got himself on the scoresheet. The six-time Ballon d’Or winner received a beauty of a pass from Busquets and lifted the ball into the net from close range.

The away side made it 5-0 not long afterwards, with Dembele getting in on the action. Moments after having one ruled out for offside, the Frenchman picked up a pass from Ilaix Moriba and finished low after a fine solo run.

There was some consolation for La Real in the closing stages. Ander Barrenetxea produced some excellent footwork to beat several Barcelona players, exchanged passes with Carlos Fernandez, and unleashed a perfectly placed shot into the top corner.

But the scoring was not done there. In the dying moments of the game, La Blaugrana put the finishing touches on a wonderful performance with the best goal of the night.

Alba picked the ball up from Messi out on the left, played a one-two with substitute Riqui Puig, and cut back for Messi to finish at the near post. It was the perfect way to round off a brilliant night.

The win keeps Barcelona four points off Atletico Madrid going into the international break. Meanwhile, Real Sociedad remain in fifth, ten points off the Champions League spots.

Man of the Match – Sergino Dest

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