BARCELONA, Dec 17: Barcelona defender Jordi Alba scored one goal and set up another to spark a 2-1 comeback victory over Real Sociedad, depriving the Basque Country side of the Spanish league lead.
Alba canceled out Willian José’s opener by curling in a strike in the 32nd minute on Wednesday. The left back then helped the hosts take the lead a minute before halftime when he crossed for Frenkie de Jong to score.
The result shuffled the order of Sociedad, Atlético Madrid and Real Madrid, all level on points at the top of the table and separated only by goal difference. Atlético is now in first place, Sociedad in second, and Madrid in third.
The win by Barcelona boosted its chances of joining the tightly-contest title race. Lionel Messi’s team climbed into fifth place, six points adrift the front-runners. Atlético has three games in hand, Barcelona two, and Madrid one, in respect to Sociedad. (AP)
