Barcelona cruises to 4-1 win over Sociedad

SAN SEBASTIAN: Robert Lewandowski scored a brace as Barcelona cruised to a 4-1 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday, its first win of the new La Liga season.

Spanish teenage sensation Ansu Fati, who is back after a series of knee surgeries in the last two years, came off the bench in the second half and took charge of the proceedings with a goal and two assists. Lewandowski opened the scoring in the first minute, rifling in a shot after a great pass from Alejandro Balde inside the penalty area.

But, Alexander Isak equalised five minutes later after latching onto a pass from David Silva. Barcelona struggled to bag its second goal until manager Xavi Hernandez sent on Raphinha and Fati in the 64th minute, with both proving crucial to the visitor’s success.

First, Fati assisted Ousmane Dembele with a brilliant pass after a fine piece of individual play from Raphinha. Then, following a beautiful team effort, Fati found Lewandowski, who netted the team’s third goal. The Polish striker returned the favour, enabling the 19-year-old Fati to score Barcelona’s fourth and final goal.

RESULTS: Real Sociedad 1 (A Isak 6) lost to Barcelona 4 (R Lewandowski 1 & 68, O Dembele 66, A Fati 79); Atletico Madrid 0 lost to Villarreal 2 (Y Pino 73, G Moreno 90).

PSG demolishes Lille

Kylian Mbappe scored the fastest Ligue 1 goal for 30 years to set Paris St Germain on its way to a runaway 7-1 victory at Lille on Sunday.

Mbappe took only eight seconds to lob the ball into the Lille net after being teed up by Lionel Messi, equalling the record set in 1992 by Michel Rio for Caen against Cannes. Mbappe completed a hat-trick and Neymar scored twice while Messi and flying full-back Achraf Hakimi netted a goal each in a devastating display.

RESULT: Lille 1 (J Bamba 54) lost to Paris St Germain 7 (K Mbappe 1, 66 & 87, L Messi 27, A Hakimi 39, Neymar 43 & 52)