Real Sociedad 0 - Barcelona 6

Real Sociedad: Asper; López Rekarte, Corino, Loren, Aranzábal; Khokhlov (Gabilondo 50'), Pikabea (Jauregui 46'), Idiakez, Aranburu; Arif (De Paula 46'), Jankauskas. 4-4-2.
Barcelona: Dutruel; Puyol, Abelardo, Petit (De la Peña 65'); Xavi, Cocu (Frank De Boer 60'); Simao, Luis Enrique (Gabri 70'), Sergi; Rivaldo, Alfonso. 3-2-3-2.

Team changes: Real: Loren for Collet / Barcelona: Puyol, Xavi, Rivaldo, Alfonso for Reiziger, Frank De Boer, Overmars, Kluivert.

Goals:
0-1. 02. Rivaldo. After Simao beat Aranzábal down right and squared across goal.
0-2. 16. Alfonso. Touched in after Xavi fired back cleared corner.
0-3. 21. Alfonso. Picked up ball outside area and shot low into corner of net.
0-4. 30. Rivaldo (penalty). After López Rekarte brought down Luis Enrique.
0-5. 35. Luis Enrique. Beat offside trap after pass from Xavi and chipped Asper.
0-6. 40. Simao. Took pass from Rivaldo on halfway line, raced on and scored.

Real Sociedad's Swedish international goalkeeper Mattias Asper must have nightmares about FC Barcelona. Last season, playing for AIK Solna in the Champions League they scored seven times against him in two matches, and this time they had six by halftime. In a display of maximum efficiency in front of goal, the Barcelona forwards scored in almost all their attacks, leaving the Real Sociedad defence in tatters and Asper a despairing spectator. The result reduces the pressure on Barça's manager Serra Ferrer, who was on a three match ultimatum after a bad start to the season, although the team still have to put up a respectable display at AC Milan midweek and then at home to Real Madrid on Saturday before he is out of danger.

Things didn't look so rosy before the game, with three of their Dutch stars, Kluivert, Overmars and Zenden definitely out having returned injured from international duty, and a fourth, Cocu, doubtful for this match. Zenden's injury particularly upset the club, after Holland's manager Louis Van Gaal ignored his old club's medical advice that the player was still not fit to play, and Barça president Juan Gaspart is thinking of taking legal action to claim compensation. The injured players were replaced in the squad by the three Olympians, Xavi, Puyol and Gabri, with Rivaldo returning from injury and Alfonso finally getting his first start for his new club, and somehow the combination worked. Serra Ferrer's formation needs and an "organiser", and the return of the injured Guardiola's substitute Xavi was the key to their recovery in more than one meaning of the word as he unlocked the Real defence with his precision passes.

Simao's speed on the break was another factor, and he left Aranzábal for dead before setting up Rivaldo for the easiest of goals to open the scoring. Alfonso then proved to his manager (and to Camacho) that he is still one of the best strikers in Spain with his first two goals for his club, and Luis Enrique, playing in the hole behind the strikers, showed that he is back to fitness winning a penalty and then scoring the fifth himself. Rivaldo then paid Simao back with a pass through the defence that the Portuguese winger took full advantage of to score his first of the season, although by then Real Sociedad had given up and the only player racing towards Asper's goal with Simao was wearing a blue and red shirt.

Soaking wet from the heavy rain that had been falling throughout the match and thoroughly disillusioned, the Real Sociedad crowd booed their players off at half time, chanting for the heads of manager Javier Clemente and club president Luis Uranga. Clemente, a fully paid up season ticket holder and lifetime supporter of Real Sociedad's local rivals Athletic Bilbao, has always been viewed with suspicion by a section of fans at San Sebastian, and although they pardoned him for last season after he inherited a group of players halfway through, this year he has chosen the players he wants and has no excuses. His decision to bring in a group of foreign mercenaries and leave local boys on the bench, in particular keeper Alberto and midfield star De Pedro, has been heavily criticized, and his tactical awareness has been questioned as for example in this match, playing an open game with an offside trap against one of the quickest sides in Europe.

History doesn't relate Clemente's half time speech to his players, but even the bad weather decided to play it safe move away after half time. If he could he would have changed all eleven, but he was only permitted three substitutes and made them all within minutes of the break. Barcelona by this time were thinking of Wednesday's match in Milan and took their foot off the accelerator, bringing on their substitutes early, including Frank De Boer who had been left out of the starting line up for the first time. Real Sociedad's Idiakez, one of the few who put up a fight, hit the post with a well struck shot, and at the other end Rivaldo missed out on his hat-trick when he tried to dribble round Asper rather than shoot first time. The Brazilian star looked out of sorts, having declared earlier in the week that he was prepared to pay back his salary and leave if his home fans continued to give him a hard time, and he didn't even celebrate his two goals such was his state of mind.

Most fans left early with the match already decided, and this week will probably be stormy as the fall out from this game settles. Real have to go back to Barcelona on Wednesday to play the second half of their unfinished match against Espanyol, and they need to recover moral to defend their 1-2 lead from the first half. They are currently lying two places from the bottom pending Sunday's results, and need the three points desperately. Barcelona's record first half haul (only equaled once in the league, by themselves in 1960), puts them in good stead for their next two matches, with their clash with leaders Real Madrid next Saturday promising to be a classic. But as we've always said, a week is a long time in football.