Real Sociedad beat Barcelona 2-1 as San Sebastián festival atmosphere lifts team

Real Sociedad beat Barcelona 2-1 at Anoeta on Sunday, ending Barcelona’s 11-game winning run in a night their new coach Pellegrino Matarazzo described as having “a little magic in the atmosphere.” The arrival of bands and a guard of honour from the city turned the stadium into a prelude to San Sebastián’s tamborrada festival.

The match began with festival pageantry — a 300-strong orchestra on the pitch and tenor Xabier Anduaga leading the anthems — and on it Mikel Oyarzabal opened the scoring on 31 minutes after an earlier 24-second effort was ruled out. Barcelona dominated possession and chances: by the time Marcus Rashford equalised on 69 minutes the shot count read 20-3 and expected goals 3.07-0.20, Dani Olmo hit the post twice inside 97 seconds, and Álex Remiro made eight saves while five shots hit the woodwork.

Gonçalo Guedes put Real Sociedad back ahead 59 seconds after Rashford’s goal. Players and local papers linked the win to the city’s tamborrada: the festival raises the city flag at midnight on 20 January and features marching bands in Napoleonic and cooks’ costumes.

Key Topics

Sports, Real Sociedad, San Sebastián, Tamborrada, Fc Barcelona, Pellegrino Matarazzo