Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 on Wednesday.

Brazilian striker Willian Jose gave the visitors the lead in the 27th minute, but Barca, playing at home, levelled four minutes later when Jordi Alba smashed the ball into the top corner with his weaker right foot.

The Catalans took the lead shortly before half-time when Frenkie de Jong arrived in the box and poked home a cross from Alba, initially seeing the goal ruled out for offside but then celebrating when it was awarded after a VAR review.

“It was our best performance of the season, I’m so happy with the attitude the team showed,” said Alba.

A second consecutive victory took Barcelona up to fifth on 20 points after 12 games and knocked Real Sociedad into second.

Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman praised his side’s relentless pressing.

“The first half was fantastic, we should have scored more goals. We were intense, we put them under a lot of pressure and we ran ourselves into the ground. It was a deserved triumph,” Koeman told a news conference.

Lionel Messi had an off night and missed several chances , but Koeman said he was pleased with his captain’s work rate.

“This is the team I want to see. The biggest difference was our play without the ball today, and Messi worked very hard in that respect, pressing a lot, and so did everyone else,” he said.

Laporta’s pledge

Barcelona presidential candidate Joan Laporta has said he will do everything in his power to ensure Lionel Messi remains at the Camp Nou should he prevail in January’s election.

“Messi loves Barca. If I become president, I’ll do everything possible to ensure he continues.”