Barcelona reclaimed their spot at the top of La Liga with a commanding 4-0 victory over 10-man Real Sociedad, responding to Atlético Madrid’s temporary leapfrog after their 1-0 win over Athletic Club on Saturday.

Hansi Flick’s side restored their one-point advantage and extended their winning streak to six games with goals from Gerard Martin, Marc Casado, Ronald Araújo, and Robert Lewandowski.

Ninth-placed Sociedad, who face Manchester United in the Europa League last 16 on March 6, had beaten Barcelona 1-0 in their previous meeting in November. However, their hopes of repeating that result were dashed early when defender Aritz Elustondo was shown a straight red card in the 17th minute for bringing down a goal-bound Dani Olmo.

Barcelona quickly capitalized on the numerical advantage. Just eight minutes later, Lamine Yamal lost his marker in the box and combined with Olmo to set up full-back Martin for a back-post finish. Four minutes later, Olmo’s strike from the edge of the box deflected in off Casado—marking the first Barcelona goals for both Martin and Casado.

The hosts didn’t have to wait long for their third. Barely a minute after Pedri rattled the woodwork with a curling long-range effort, Araújo rose highest to head home an inswinging corner from Raphinha.
Lewandowski completed the rout on the hour mark, sticking out a foot to divert Araújo’s shot past the helpless Alex Remiro in goal.

Barcelona now sit firmly in the title race as they continue their push for La Liga glory.