Barca snatch ‘inexplicable’ win at dominant Sociedad, Girona top Liga

BARCELONA: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said football is “inexplicable” after Ronald Araujo’s 92nd minute winner snatched Barcelona an undeserved 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad on Saturday in La Liga.

Having suffered a last-gasp defeat by Real Madrid in the Clasico last Saturday despite having the better of the game, Xavi’s side inflicted the same suffering on Real Sociedad in San Sebastian.

Barcelona failed to create any clear chances until the final stages, with their goalkeeper Marc-Andre Ter Stegen keeping the score level, before Araujo headed Ilkay Gundogan’s cross home with seconds remaining.

The victory takes Barcelona third, two points above Atletico Madrid, who lost on Friday at Las Palmas, and one point behind second place Real Madrid, who host Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.

Girona provisionally lead La Liga by three points from Los Blancos after they came from behind to beat Osasuna 4-2 earlier Saturday.

“It tastes spectacular,” Xavi told Movistar after Araujo’s late winner.

“Football sometimes is inexplicable — last week we deserved to win and ended up losing, now (we) don’t deserve to win, and end up winning.”

Madrid midfielder Jude Bellingham’s double inflicted Barcelona’s first league defeat and Xavi said the team were still reeling from it as La Real outplayed them.

“Maybe we came out with a post-Clasico hangover... we didn’t have the intensity that we wanted,” added Xavi.

The coach brought Robert Lewandowski into the Barca starting lineup after he made his return from injury as a substitute against Madrid.

However the Polish forward was just as quiet as he was last weekend as the game passed him and Barcelona by for large periods.

Real Sociedad pushed the Catalans back through the first half,