Barcelona defeats high-flying Real Sociedad as Lionel Messi records 300th Nou Camp victory

Barcelona came from behind to defeat La Liga leader Real Socieded in what was Lionel Messi’s 300th victory at the Nou Camp.

After a testing start to the season, goals from Jordi Alba and Frenkie de Jong gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory and eased some of the pressure on Ronald Koeman’s side.

Willian Jose gave Socieded, who dropped off the top spot after Wednesday’s game, an early lead when he tapped in Cristian Portu’s cross midway through the first half.

But Barcelona responded quickly as Alba curled a shot into the top corner before setting up De Jong just before halftime following a VAR review.

“The first half was fantastic, we should have scored more goals,” Koeman told reporters after the game, per Reuters.

“We were intense, we put them under a lot of pressure and we ran ourselves into the ground.”

“Real Sociedad are excellent on the ball but we kept robbing it off them, we pressed them so well. It was an open game because our opponents know how to play very well but the game belonged to us and it was a deserved triumph.”

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In what was a landmark evening for Messi, the Argentine notched his 300th home victory, which includes 211 in La Liga, 53 in the Champions League, 30 in the Copa del Rey and six in the Supercopa, according to Opta.

Barcelona next faces Valencia on Saturday, while Sociedad travels to Levante, a side which has gone nearly four weeks without a win.