Barca suffers controversal loss at Real Sociedad
A disallowed goal for Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski proved costly for the LaLiga leader as it succumbed to a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad, ending a seven-match winning streak.
The Poland star thought he had put the visitors ahead in the 13th minute when he poked home from close range, but after a long delay VAR ruled he was offside by the width of a toenail, chalking off what would have been his 20th goal of the season.
What was an extremely tight decision became all the more controversial on 33 minutes when Sheraldo Becker took advantage of a slip by 17-year-old Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsi and guided the ball in off the far post beyond Inaki Pena for the only goal of the game.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was seen in a heated discussion before play resumed in the second half, and he would have been no happier come the final whistle as his side, which was missing livewire Laime Yamal through injury, failed to break down La Real's well-organised defence.
The hosts also had chances to increase the lead, forcing Pena into a number of clutch saves, but the players in front of him could not make them count, failing to register a single shot on target across the 90 minutes.
Mikel Oyarzabal missed a glorious chance after good work from Takefusa Kubo just before half-time, with the home skipper also drawing Pena into action in the second period.
Barcelona remains top of the pile with 33 points, six ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, which has a game in hand.
For Real Sociedad, another solid home performance moved it up to eighth on 18 points.
