VAR Ends Barcelona’s Seven-Game Winning Streak
Barcelona had built an impressive streak of seven consecutive victories across all competitions, fueling widespread expectations that the Catalan side might maintain this strong form throughout the season. However, their momentum came to a surprising end as La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered their second league defeat, falling 1-0 to Real Sociedad in a Sunday matchup in the 13th round of La Liga.
Under the leadership of German coach Hansi Flick, Barcelona had won all their matches since their only league defeat to Osasuna (4-2) on September 28. However, this recent loss prevented them from restoring their nine-point lead over rivals Real Madrid. The reigning champions, Real Madrid, defeated Osasuna 4-0 on Saturday, reducing the gap to six points while still holding a game in hand.
Barcelona suffered the defeat in the absence of their young star, Lamine Yamal, who sustained a significant bruise on his right ankle during Wednesday’s Champions League match against Serbian team Red Star Belgrade (5-2). According to the Catalan club, “He has undergone treatment in recent days, but the discomfort persists.”
The 17-year-old may need to withdraw from Spain’s squad for the UEFA Nations League matches, scheduled for Friday against Denmark and next Monday against Switzerland.
Both teams initially created limited opportunities, with the most notable moment occurring when Polish forward Robert Lewandowski scored for the visiting Catalan side, only for the goal to be disallowed due to an offside call after a VAR review (15).
Barcelona today criticized what it described as a “major error” by the referees, suggesting that the match could have taken a different turn if Lewandowski’s goal had been allowed when the score was still level at 0-0.
This incident sparked considerable controversy, with analytical images showing two different scenarios according to most observers. From one angle, it appeared as if Lewandowski was slightly ahead of the last defender by the tip of his boot. However, from another angle, it was evident that the referees had made a mistake. The analysis showed that the boot belonged to Moroccan international defender Nayef Aguerd, who was in a defensive stance marking “Lewa”—an error by the VAR officials, who mistakenly thought it was part of the Barcelona striker’s foot.
For his part, Barcelona’s German coach, Hansi Flick, did not hide his displeasure with the referee’s decision. While maintaining his composure, he confidently stated, “The decision was clearly wrong. But we have to accept it.”
He continued in a statement to the “Barça One” streaming platform, “It wasn’t the main referee’s mistake; we’re human, and we make mistakes. Today, the mistake was significant.”
Barcelona failed to score for the first time this season across all competitions and even failed to register a shot on target throughout the match, despite controlling 69.6% of possession. Flick made several attempts to correct things before it was too late, substituting attacking midfielder Dani Olmo for team captain Frenkie de Jong, and Ansu Fati in place of Ferran López in the winger role. However, these changes had no impact, as Real Sociedad claimed their fifth victory, securing their 18th point. They now sit in eighth place, ahead of Mallorca and Girona on goal difference.
As for Flick, he stated, “The responsibility for the loss lies with us, we are the ones responsible. We can play much better. Normally, we score goals, but today we lacked accuracy. I believe this is a one-time occurrence, and we will be more precise in our upcoming matches. I think the team is performing well, and this issue (not scoring) doesn’t concern me.”
