Coutinho the fillip for Barca: Suarez
Catalan side seal comeback win, as Real and Atletico lose ground in title race
Luis Suarez hailed the impact of second-half substitute Philippe Coutinho as Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 at Anoeta on Saturday.
The hosts led at the break through Aritz Elustondo's goal, but goals by Suarez and Ousmane Dembele helped Barca turn the table.
In the process, the Catalan side maintained their perfect record after four matches, as Real Madrid lost ground following a 1-1 stalemate at Athletic Bilbao.
Suarez felt that it was Coutinho's introduction at half-time, and Sergio Busquets' arrival just before the hour mark, which swung the match in their favour.
"Philippe came on and did really well," Suarez told beIN Sports after the game. "He changed the dynamic of the game.
"The league is defined by these kind of games. Last year, we also came back from 2-0 after many years without winning here. The reaction says a lot about this team."
Mikel Oyarzabal and Theo Hernandez both could have made it 2-0 for Sociedad after half-time, but the former blazed over and the latter was denied by Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Within minutes, they were behind, as two crosses caused havoc in Sociedad's defence, with Suarez and Dembele perfectly placed to pounce.
Barca coach Ernesto Valverde had made the surprise decision to omit Busquets from his starting line-up, presumably with their Champions League opener against PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday morning (Singapore time) in mind.
This was the second time this season that Coutinho has made an impact as a super sub. The Brazilian also came on to great effect in the opening-day match against Alaves while the match was goalless. Barca eventually won 3-0.
Meanwhile, Real, who were unbeaten after three games, found themselves trailing to Iker Muniain's 32nd-minute goal on a counter-attack at Athletic Bilbao.
Athletic goalkeeper Unai Simon held Real at bay until Isco headed in Gareth Bale's assist after the hour.
The draw put Julen Lopetegui's men on 10 points, two adrift of Barcelona.
Real open their Champions League campaign against Roma at the Santiago Bernabeu on Thursday morning (Singapore time.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid also slipped further back in the La Liga title race by drawing at home to Eibar as they got off to their worst league start since 2009, reported AFP.
Diego Simeone's side had looked on course for defeat when Eibar's Sergi Enrich bundled home in the 87th minute.
But Borja Garces equalised with virtually the last kick of the game for Atletico, who travel to Monaco in the Champions League on Wednesday morning (Singapore time).
They will need to improve as Antoine Griezmann and Diego Costa were both sloppy in the final third and Eibar might even have scored earlier, twice denied by the woodwork.
"I would worry if we had not created those chances to score," Simeone said. "The team also showed a reaction after their goal. We continued to push and managed to get a point."
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