Notwithstanding that the Basques would therefore seem to be the most accommodating of opponents. But Barca had shown already this season with home defeats against Leganes and Las Palmas that they certainly were not infallible, complacency being their enemy on those occasions.
It's perhaps with that in mind that Barca's slightly tweaked 4-1-4-1 formation had Marc Casado ostensibly stationed as the defensive pivot, at least to begin with.
Indeed, as the below graphic shows, even though his average position saw him sat just in front of his back four as the pivot role would dictate, Barca's superiority in this game saw their defensive line on or around the halfway line, meaning Casado's sentry was often well inside the Sociedad half (he is slightly obscured in the centre circle - No. 17 - in the graphic below).
This incredibly high line has proven to be a high-risk, high-reward strategy that Hansi Flick will not deviate from, even if it has seen a few unexpected results in the 2024/25 campaign.
It soon became clear that Barca would enjoy some freedom in their play against Imanol Alguacil's side, allowing them to quickly adopt their possession-based game with relative ease.
The hosts had the ball for 83.2% of the time between the 15th and 30th minutes, precisely when Alguacil would have been hoping to reorganise his XI after an early red card for Aritz Elustondo.
Things got no better in that regard in the opening 15 minutes of the second half either as Barca continued to toy with their deflated opponents and manipulated their possession stats to a match high of 91.2 percent.
If there's one thing that Flick has added to those beautiful passing carousels we've come to expect from Barca, it is an incredible ferocity and intensity to their pressing from all areas of the team. For example, Casado, from defensive midfield, had 14 entries into the final third of the pitch, and that was bettered only by Pau Cubarsi - a centre-back.
Indeed, the squeeze that the Blaugranes have managed to put on opposition teams in essentially half a pitch, whilst also excelling in their passing in such tight spaces, has often been a joy to behold.
On the day and from a Barca perspective, only Raphinha dropped below an 80% pass accuracy. Dani Olmo (38) and Robert Lewandowski (24) had less than his 41 total passes, however, La Real's goalkeeper, Alex Remiro, had by far the most from his team and with 45, it was just four more than Raphinha.
Though Sociedad had more than half a dozen players with a pass accuracy of over 80%, it's worth pondering that only two of their outfield players made over 20 passes.
The much lauded Martin Zubimendi, believed to be a long-term Arsenal target, delivered just 13 on the day out of a paltry total of 20 total touches of the ball, whilst the only visiting player with a 100% pass accuracy - Jon Olasagasti - was taken off by his manager once the official had brandished the red card to Elustondo.
The visitors simply couldn't get out of their own half for long periods, with much of Barca's attacking - 40.4% - coming down Lamine Yamal's right-hand side. 22 interactions between the youngster and Jules Kounde was the most from either team, with Frenkie de Jong (15) and Pedri (10) also choosing the majority of their out balls to be heading in the exciting 17-year-old's direction.
That would go some way to explaining the below heat map graphic.
Barcelona were, in fact, a consistent threat in all of the attacking thirds of the pitch including 29.9% down the left, where Casado's 18 interactions with Gerard Martin became a feature when the hosts switched play to the opposite side.
It further evidences the involvement of those players at the sharp end, and it can't be a coincidence that both ended up scoring their first-ever goals for the club.
Dani Olmo assisted for Martin to open the scoring, and it was one of the Spaniard's five chances created in the match - the joint most with Yamal and de Jong.
Another Olmo assist, this time Casado really just getting in the way of the midfielder's shot, made the game safe for Barca before the half hour, and it was also the Catalan club's 33rd goal in the first-half of their 26 LaLiga games this season - more than any other team in the Spanish top-flight.
Even the most fervent Sociedad supporter would have conceded that the game was already up at that point, not to mention that Alguacil's side hadn't even managed a single shot on or off target.
In fact, no shots in the entire game was the lowest total of any team in any game during the current LaLiga season and, as a result, Sociedad became only the second team in the Opta era (since 2003/04) to fail to have a single shot against Barcelona in a LaLiga game.
By contrast, Barcelona attempted 33 shots, which is the highest total in any single Spanish top-flight match in 2024/25.
If that statistic wasn't enough to ram home how poor the visitors were, their one solitary touch in Barca's box was the fewest in any LaLiga game over the past 15 years.
It afforded Barca's full-backs an opportunity to get forward and pepper the Sociedad box with crosses. Eighteen of them to be exact, higher than their season average of 17.6.
Ronald Araujo certainly enjoys playing against La Real too. Aside from his 56 accurate passes with a 94.9 percent accuracy - the second highest on the day for those Barca players having made 50 accurate passes or more - his goal in the 56th minute was his first in LaLiga since November 4th, 2023, also against Sociedad.
All in all, in whichever metric one might choose to review the game by, Sociedad were given an absolute mauling.
Barca march on, and six consecutive league wins in a run of 15 matches unbeaten in all competitions should send a warning to the rest of the Spanish top-flight and beyond.
