Ousmane Dembélé and Birthday Boy Robert Lewandowski Score As Barcelona Secures Victory Over Real Sociedad

• Robert Lewandowski scored two goals on his birthday as Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 4-1 away from home
• Ansu Fati produced a masterclass as he came off the bench to create two assists and score one goal
• Real Sociedad were unhappy that Ousmane Dembélé was still on the pitch to score when he should have received a red card

Robert Lewandowski took just 45 seconds to score on his birthday for FC Barcelona.

The Polish striker opened the scoring as Barcelona took on Real Sociedad in their second La Liga fixture.

The goal came about after Sociedad’s Takefusa Kubo was brought down in the box, leading many to believe that a penalty would be given. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) didn’t find any fault as Barcelona played on, allowing 18-year-old Alejandro Balde to sprint down the pitch. The youngster found Lewandowski who smartly finished with his first touch of the ball.

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Sociedad weren’t behind for long as Alexander Isak drew them level after six minutes. The Swedish striker was lucky as his shot deflected off Eric García and bobbled over the head of Marc-André ter Stegen.

Ousmane Dembélé was then lucky to find himself still on the park after replays showed that he elbowed an opponent in the face. VAR did not intervene and Dembélé got away with it.

VAR failed to intervene not long after, once again, when Isak was brought down outside the box by Andreas Christensen.

The rest of the first half passed by speedily as Sociedad looked more likely to grab a second. The hosts dominated larger portions of the game and had more attempts on target. David Silva almost put Sociedad in front in the 45th minute but ter Stegen pulled off an amazing save to knock the ball wide.

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Sociedad then thought they had scored a second goal in the 53rd minute of the game when the ball went in straight from a free kick. The goal was disallowed for offside despite no Sociedad player, who were in offside positions, touching the ball. The decision brought about boos and jeers from the supporters who didn’t understand why the goal was not allowed to stand.

Ansu Fati was brought on in the second half, and his introduction reaped rewards quite soon after. Fati’s creative presence in the midfield first set up Dembéléfor Barcelona’s second goal before Fati set up Lewandowski for Barca’s third.

Fati then grabbed Barcelona’s fourth goal of the game in the 79th minute when he calmly slotted home from close range. Barca hung on to victory as they secured their first win of the season.

French defender Jules Koundé grows frustrated with Barcelona's inability to register him for La Liga fixtures

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No professional football player wants to watch from the sidelines as his teammates take to the field weekly.

For French defender Jules Koundé, that has become a stark reality at FC Barcelona.

Koundé is not yet registered with La Liga and, therefore, unable to play any league games for the Catalan giants.