In a thrilling Copa del Rey match on 25 January 2023, Barcelona hosted Real Sociedad in a contest that witnessed a low-scoring affair, but high drama. The match ended in a 1-0 victory for Barcelona and, statistically, Barcelona were the superior side.

Barcelona managed to secure their victory courtesy of an early second-half goal scored just after the restart (51:35). A single goal was the difference between the two teams, but a look at further stats could throw some light on elements not immediately visible to the untrained eye.

Even though Barcelona committed nearly as many fouls as Real Sociedad (10 compared to Sociedad’s 11), they appeared to be disciplinarily more significant, concluding the game with two yellow cards in quick succession (55:26 and 58:09). While Real Sociedad had less yellow cards (1), they received a red card which hampered their ability to come back in the game.

Barcelona dominated in terms of corner kicks, with a total of 9 in contrast to Sociedad's 3. This raises questions about the attacking intensity and territorial control Barcelona enjoyed, creating more opportunities by forcing the ball out of Sociedad’s penalty box. This indicates that Barcelona had better ball possession and spent more time in the opposing team's territory.

Another interesting statistic was Barcelona's offsides, totaling 5 compared to Sociedad's 0. This could imply that Barcelona were the more aggressive and attacking side, pushing up against Real Sociedad’s defensive line more frequently, though at times they were too eager and were caught offside.

From these statistics, we can conclude that Barcelona’s overall control of the match, decisive use of set pieces, and pressure in Real Sociedad’s half were significant in determining the win. However, the discipline of both teams, especially the red card for Real Sociedad, also had a crucial impact on the outcome. Barcelona capitalized on their opened up the field advantage, displaying a well-balanced mix of possession and aggressive attacking football.

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