The Post-Messi era begins on a high note for Barca, who comfortably collected all three points in their season-opener.
It was a busy night for the scoreboard operators at Camp Nou on Sunday as FC Barcelona thumped Real Sociedad 4-2 in their first match of the 2021-22 La Liga campaign.
Gerard Pique, Martin Braithwaite, and Sergi Roberto were those whose names were on the scoresheet for the hosts while Julen Lobete Cienfuegos and Mikel Oyarzabal were on target for the visitors.
Pique deadlock at minute 19 by heading in a free-kick from Memphis Depay, for whom he took a pay cut so that the Dutchman could register for the club.
Braithwaite bagged a brace on either side of the half-time break before Sergi Roberto handed Sociedad the final blow in the closing moments of the match.
The match marked the dawn of a new era for the Blaugrana as they entered their first season after nearly two decades without club legend Lionel Messi, who jumped ships to Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month on a free transfer.
Barcelona will hope to keep their momentum up when they pay a visit to Athletic Bilbao next Saturday for their second match of the new league campaign.
Barcelona vs Real Sociedad Player Ratings
Barcelona: Neto – 6, Dest – 6, Garcia – 7, Pique – 8, Alba – 8, Busquets – 6, De Jong – 8, Pedri – 7, Griezmann – 7, Depay – 8, Braithwaite – 9, Roberto – 7, Emerson – 4, Araujo – N/A, Gonzalez – N/A, Lenglet – N/A
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