Barça vs Real Sociedad Player Ratings

FC Barcelona left the Estadi Olímpic with a 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad. Quite an important one as well, to keep them in the race for a second place against Girona. Despite the Basque team's ability, it ended up being a fairly simple game for Barça. While both teams had their chances, only Barça could get over the line. Let's take a look at some ratings in this one:

Goalkeeper

Ter Stegen: 7/10 - Made a good save early on, when it wasn't quite certain yet if Sociedad had been offside (they had been, but play continued). Other than that he didn't have to do too much apart from some simple saves. He was caught flat-footed on an Oyarzabal shot that thankfully rolled wide, however. He played out well from the back, not committing any mistakes, but since that should be the bare minimum, he's receiving a 7.

Defenders

Cubarsí: 7/10 - Pau Cubarsí started his first team career off strong, but he's been quite a bit more down to earth as of late. Iñigo Martínez entrusted Cubarsí with tracking back runs alone more than once, unable to sprint back like the youngster is. Cubarsí did seem to struggle with that at times. On more than one occasion, these types of balls in behind caused trouble for Barça, even if most were offside. On the whole, they didn't amount to much, but it should be a good learning experience for Cubarsí.

Cancelo: 6/10 - Cancelo's utility is becoming more and more questionable as the season goes along. He wasn't bad in this one exactly, but his style of play more often than not leads to problems on the counterattack. With he and Koundé both pushed up often, it can be hard for them to transition to defense. Koundé does it more naturally, being a center back, but not Cancelo. Whether this is an instruction by Xavi or not, it's still a problem, as he loses the ball in bad situations often and often makes bad passes. Sociedad didn't have the tools to make them pay, but other team have and will again.

Koundé: 7/10 - His form has been much better recently. This is what Barça must've expected from him when they bought him. He combines well with the midfield and Yamal, but he also is quick on the recovery. As the right center back in a line of three, he looks very comfortable, and he's very skilled. They didn't challenge him too much in this one, preferring instead to bypass him with balls in behind. This did work quite well for Sociedad, but he always tracked back as quickly as possible.

Martínez: 6/10 - Not a huge fan of his game in this one. All the things that he's good at, he did - solid on the ball, good in the air on corners, etc. However, he left Cubarsí on a bit of an island, being unable or unwilling to turn and run when passes came in behind.

Midfielders

Christensen: 7/10 - Christensen isn't quite a pivot yet, and it can be seen in his play. He doesn't take risks, which is good in the current situation. He plays the ball backwards when in trouble, but well. There may be some moments in which he may be better off receiving and turning upfield, but if he's not capable of that at the moment that's what Pedri or Gündoğan are for. Similarly to Pedri, he was solid, but not outstanding.

Pedri: 7/10 - Did well in the first phase to receive balls. No pressure got to him, as he elegantly kept the ball moving. When Barça got into attack mode, he did well to circulate and swing passes from side to side. A good solid game from him, one in which there were no mistakes committed, but perhaps lacking a bit of inspiration.

Gündoğan: 7/10 - The German assisted Barça's first goal and was quite good throughout. However, there were some moments when he could've done better. Barça generate a ton of chances, they just don't finish most of them. A slightly better decision here or final ball there and a game like this can be 3 or 4-0. The efficiency in these situations should be better, especially when Gündoğan and Lewandowski are as veteran as they are.

Fermín: 7/10 - There was almost no drop off when Fermín and Roberto came on, which was a good thing. Fermín had a bit of space to run into, but the match wasn't quite as wide open as would be optimal for him. Nevertheless, he had some good moments and didn't commit any mistakes.

Roberto: 7/10 - Roberto is more than capable of simply doing what Christensen does on the ball. Defensively, of course, he's not, but it didn't matter, as Barça had possession throughout the second half. When Sociedad had moments of danger, it wasn't off of long stretches of possession, and Roberto was often there to defend well enough.

Romeu: N/A - To be honest, he played two minutes and there wasn't much of a chance for him to do much at all, having come off after Raphinha's goal.

Forwards

Yamal: 8/10 - Another typical Yamal game where you just sit back and notice how good he can be. The finish was cool and pretty much unsaveable. A sweet first touch that snuck past the keeper, and he made it look easy. However, he also had a few other moments of danger where he took on the defense and made them look silly or risk conceding a penalty.

Lewandowski: 7/10 - There was a stretch in the first half where the Polish striker looked like he was fighting for his job and recovered the ball about three times. It's good to see him trying out there, and his form has definitely improved. He didn't have any clear cut chances, but he had a few headers and opportunities, even if they were only half-chances.

Raphinha: 8/10 - Hit the post on a cracking driven shot, as seems to be usual for him, and was his usual self. He also forced a great save from Remiro and was a constant headache for Sociedad. One of his many attempts saw a handball in the box and a penalty, which he coolly dispatched. Raphinha is one of those players who won't be very efficient at all, but will have so many chances and put in so much effort that he can't help but be effective at the end of the day. He can play on my team any day of the week.

Ferran: 8/10 - Quite liked what I saw from him. He seems to have a talent for subbing in and immediately getting a good chance, which forced another Remiro save. He's a bundle of energy, similarly to Raphinha, and versatile. In this match alone, he played in two different places, really. He should get more minutes soon if Barça really want to gauge their options this summer.