In their first victory of the new LaLiga season, Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 4-1 on Sunday thanks in large part to a brace from Robert Lewandowski. Ansu Fati, a young star from Spain who has struggled to recover from several knee operations in the past two years, came off the bench and took control of the game with two assists and a goal in the second half.
After a superb assist from Alejandro Balde inside the penalty area, the Poland striker, who was playing in honor of his birthday, scored the game’s first goal.
But five minutes later, Alexander Isak, who had intercepted a ball from David Silva, equalized.
Raphinha and Fati, who both proved essential to Barca’s win, were introduced by coach Xavi Hernandez in the 64th minute after Barca had been unable to break the score.
First, Raphinha displayed excellent individual play, and Fati then assisted Ousmane Dembele with a wonderful heel pass.
Then Fati completed a great team effort to help Lewandowski score his third.
Ten minutes later, Lewandowski returned the favor by assisting 19-year-old Fati in scoring Barca’s fourth goal to seal the victory.
The Barcelona coach also discussed the tactical adjustments he made that significantly affected the game’s outcome.
After emerging for Barcelona at the age of 16 and becoming the second-youngest player in LaLiga history after progressing through the Catalan club’s junior system, Fati has been hampered by injuries.
He rapidly made a name for himself as one of the most promising young players in the world, becoming the youngest player to score for Spain and the youngest player to score in the Champions League.