Barcelona came out on the winning side of a five-goal thriller against Real Sociedad on Saturday as Lionel Messi'sbracedrove the title contenders to a 3-2 victory andback within three points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.Messi struck twice to put the Blaugrana 2-0 up before Samuel Umtiti's own goal and Paco Alcacer's quick reply made it 3-1, and Xabi Prieto fired in Sociedad's second on the stroke of half-time.Alcacer started in place of the suspended Neymar, who served the first match of the three-game ban he received as a result of the dissent he showed following a red card in the recent 2-0 defeat to Malaga.While the result was the one Barca were seeking, there was less to be said of the quality of their performance, as highlighted by FourFourTwo's Kristan Heneage:Manager Luis Enrique could hardly have hoped for Barca to get off to a slicker start at the Camp Nou on Saturday, where Messi needed just over a quarter of an hour to set his side on their way tovictory.The Argentinian undoubtedly gets his best finishing done inside the area, but Sociedad stopper Geronimo Rulli was helpless to prevent his countryman's opening thunderbolt from 25 yards, via Sky Sports La Liga:Messi's second strike wasn't quite as crisp in comparison, but Enrique will have been encouraged to see Alcacer playing his part in the build-up alongside Luis Suarez.Alcacer's back-heel inside the box teed up Suarez for a shot before Messi diverted home the ricochet, andMatch of the Daypresenter Gary Lineker was left in awe of the South American's remarkable Barcelona record:Umtiti was unfortunate to score in his own net after Inigo Martinez's shot thumped off the Barcelona centre-back and past Marc-Andre ter Stegen just five minutes later, cutting the home side's goal advantage down to one.However, Alcacer was on hand to restore the two-goal cushion with his fourth goal in seven matches, when Messi spotted his run down the left side of Sociedad's box and fed the former Valencia man to ease Barca ahead.With 44 minutes on the clock, the Camp Nou hosts would have been forgiven for thinking that lead would last until the interval, but Prieto's injury-time intervention lifted La Real's spirits right before half-time.Willian Jose's smart pass allowed Prieto to finish first time and give the guests hope as Andres Cordero of beIN Sports hinted at the Sociedad star's pedigree:Unfortunately for those in attendance at the Camp Nou, Saturday's second half didn't produce anywhere near as much entertainment in terms of goalmouth action as the two teams failed to net again in the final 45 minutes.Enrique's hosts remained in control of the fixture for the most part, edging their opponents in possession taken and shots on target, per WhoScored.com.That being said, not for the first time of late, Barcelona showed their share of weakness in a far-from-perfect display, although there is comfort to be taken knowing Enrique can rely on his backups to pull through for the team.Barca might have climbed closer to La Liga leaders Real Madrid were it not for Isco's late winner against Sporting Gijon earlier on Saturday, where a 3-2 victory was enough to keep Los Blancos out of reach.That being said, the Blaugrana's attention now turns back to the European stage as Enrique's side seek to hit back a 3-0 deficit in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League quarter-final against Juventus this Wednesday.
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