MADRID: Robert Lewandowski left his mark with a pair of goals on his 34th birthday, and Barcelona saw its high-profile attack finally click in a 4-1 win at Real Sociedad for its first victory of the season on Sunday.
Lewandowski also set up Ansu Fati’s goal as Barcelona quickly rebounded from a scoreless opening draw at home in the Spanish league against Rayo Vallecano in which the attack was ineffective.
Ousmane Dembélé also scored for the Catalan club that entered the season amid high expectations after spending big to boost its squad despite enduring financial difficulties.
Lewandowski scored his first goal of the season a minute into the match with a nice touch from inside the area after a pass by teenager Alejandro Balde.
The hosts equalized with a goal from Alexander Isak in the sixth minute after a nice through ball by veteran David Silva, but Barcelona’s forward stood out in the second half. Dembélé scored with a low shot in the 66th after a backheel pass by Fati, who found the net himself in the 79th after Lewandowski’s assist. Lewandowski’s second goal came from close range in the 68th after another assist by Fati.
The result kept Barcelona unbeaten against Sociedad in 13 league matches, with two draws and 11 victories.
Sociedad had opened with a win at Cádiz.
Lewandowski’s birthday double leads Barça to 1st league win
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Lewandowski’s birthday double leads Barça to 1st league win
Romero apologizes for Spurs slump as crisis deepens
- Tottenham are languishing in 14th place, with pressure building on Frank as he struggles to turn the tide
- “Apologies to all fans of you who follow us everywhere, who are always there and will continue to be,” Romero said
LONDON: Cristian Romero added to the mounting crisis at Tottenham as the Argentinian appeared to take a swipe at the club’s hierarchy after apologizing for their latest dismal defeat.
Thomas Frank’s side were beaten 3-2 at Bournemouth on Wednesday to leave them with just two wins from their last 12 Premier League matches.
Tottenham are languishing in 14th place, with pressure building on Frank as he struggles to turn the tide in his first season in charge after arriving from Brentford.
With fans growing increasingly angry — some were seen arguing with players after the Bournemouth loss — Tottenham captain Romero took to social media to say sorry for his team’s plight.
The volatile center-back also hinted that Frank and the players should be backed publicly by the club’s powerbrokers.
Writing on Instagram, he said “other people” should be coming out to speak and added that they “only show up when things are going well, to tell a few lies.”
The 27-year-old later deleted that post but his replacement post was almost identical, omitting the lies comment but still seeming to take aim at Tottenham’s board.
Daniel Levy left his role as chairman in September and chief executive Vinai Venkatesham was only appointed in April.
Tottenham co-sporting director Johan Lange has been in place since 2023, while majority owners ENIC, run by the Lewis family trust, have rarely made public statements.
“Apologies to all fans of you who follow us everywhere, who are always there and will continue to be,” Romero said.
“We are responsible, there’s no doubt about that. I am the first. But we will keep facing up to it and trying to turn the situation around, for ourselves and for the club.
“At times like this, it should be other people coming out to speak, but they don’t — as has been happening for several years now. They only show up when things are going well.
“We’ll stay here, working, sticking together and giving our all to turn things around. Especially at times like this, keeping quiet, working harder and moving forward all together, is part of football. All together, it will be easier.”
Romero previously defended Frank’s predecessor Ange Postecoglou in another social media post last year.
Postecoglou was sacked despite winning the Europa League last season to end the club’s 17-year trophy drought.
- Kudus out until March -
Romero appeared to support the Australian as he highlighted “many obstacles that always existed and always will exist” at the club.
Spurs manager Frank later said he and Lange had spoken to Romero on Thursday.
“I said it when I named him the captain that even though he’s an experienced player, he’s tried a lot, he’s still a young leader. And I think a lot of the things he’s done well on and off the pitch, I’m happy with,” said Frank.
“But also when you’re a young leader sometimes you make a mistake, of course it’s good to keep it internally.
“Johan and I had a good conversation with him this morning about everything, which we of course keep internally.”
Tottenham’s injury crisis, meanwhile, continues to increase with Rodrigo Bentancur suffering a hamstring injury at Bournemouth and Lucas Bergvall also forced off.
Frank, already without Mohammed Kudus and Dejan Kulusevski, told a press conference Thursday: “Kudus is a bigger one, to the tendon and quad, and don’t expect him back until after the March international break.”










