Barcelona hit by absence of injured Yamal, loses to Sociedad in Spanish league

MADRID (AP) — Missing injured Lamine Yamal, Barcelona saw its seven-game winning run come to an end with a 1-0 loss at Real Sociedad in the Spanish league on Sunday.

Yamal, one of the team's key players this season under new coach Hansi Flick, was ruled out before the game because of a right ankle injury.

He was replaced by Fermín López and the team's attack — by far the best in the league with 40 goals scored in 13 matches — struggled in the Basque Country, unable to get a single attempt on target against Sociedad.

Sheraldo Becker scored a 33rd-minute winner to move Sociedad, which had lost two of its last three games in all competitions, to eighth place.

Barcelona has a six-point lead over second-place Real Madrid, which routed Osasuna 4-0 at home on Saturday with a hat trick from Vinícius Júnior. Madrid has a game in hand after its visit to Valencia was postponed because of the deadly floods in the Valencia region.

“We have to analyze what happened and keep working after the international break,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri said. “We have been playing well and we are still in first place.”

Barcelona had won seven in a row in all competitions since a 4-2 loss at Osasuna in the league in September. Its only other loss this season had been at Monaco in the Champions League. All of its other 14 matches were victories.

Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski, the league's leading scorer with 14 goals, had a first-half goal disallowed for offside.

Barcelona said Yamal sustained a “severe right ankle contusion” in last Wednesday’s game against Red Star in the Champions League.

“Over the past few days, he has undergone treatment, but the discomfort has yet to subside. His recovery will determine his availability,” the club said.

Flick said the club tested Yamal on Sunday to see if he could play “but it was not possible.”

Julián Álvarez scored a second-half winner as Atletico Madrid moved back into third place with a 1-0 victory at Mallorca.

That left Atletico one point behind Madrid. It moved two points ahead of Villarreal, which defeated visiting Alaves 3-0 on Saturday.

Álvarez scored Atletico's winner in the 61st minute after Giuliano Simeone's assist. Simeone, the son of Atletico coach Diego Simeone, beat a defender to a long pass and set Álvarez for an easy strike from close range.

Goalkeeper Jan Oblak had another solid performance for Atletico, which earned its seventh clean sheet in the league this season, the most by any club.

Atletico was coming off a 2-1 midweek win at Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League.

Marc Bartra scored a stoppage-time equalizer as seventh-place Real Betis salvaged a 2-2 home draw against 11th-place Celta Vigo.

Celta had moved ahead with Anastasios Douvikas' goal in the 82nd.

The visitors earlier took the lead through Javi Rodríguez in the 13th before Vitor Roque equalized for Betis in the 40th.

Midtable Girona won 1-0 at 17th-place Getafe with a first-half goal by Yangel Herrera, while sixth-place Athletic Bilbao was held at second-to-last-place Valladolid, with the Basque Country club earning the equalizer with Gorka Guruzeta in stoppage time after the hosts had taken the lead with Raúl Moro in the 79th.

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Real Sociedad's team players celebrate after Sheraldo Becker scored the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Real Sociedad's team players celebrate after Sheraldo Becker, left, scored the opening goal during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Teams stand for a moment of silence in memory of the flood victims in Valencia, before the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Pau Cubarsi, top, heads the ball during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Real Sociedad's Ander Barrenetxea, left, comforts Barcelona's Ansu Fati after the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick gestures during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Dani Olmo reacts during the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski reacts after the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and Barcelona at the Anoeta stadium, in San Sebastian, Spain, Sunday, Nov. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Miguel Oses)

The number of Americans applying for unemployment benefits rose last week but remains at historically healthy levels.

Jobless claim applications rose by 9,000 to 224,000 for the week of Nov. 30, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's more than the 214,000 analysts were forecasting.

Continuing claims, the total number of Americans collecting jobless benefits, fell by 25,000 to 1.87 million for the week of Nov. 23. That's down from the three-year high levels it had been at the past few weeks.

The four-week average of weekly claims, which quiets some of the weekly volatility, rose by 750 to 218,250.

Weekly applications for jobless benefits are considered a proxy for U.S. layoffs.

While the job markets has shown some softening recently, it remains healthy and has exceeded most expectations considering that interest rates have been elevated in recent years. The Federal Reserve jacked up rates in 2022 and into 2023 in an attempt to squelch the sky-high inflation that developed when the U.S. economy rebounded from the brief but sharp pandemic recession.

The Fed has cut its benchmark rate at its last two meetings in response to receding inflation, which has fallen close to the U.S. central bank’s 2% target.

Earlier this week, the government reported that U.S. job openings rebounded to 7.7 million in October from a 3 1/2 year low of 7.4 million in September, a sign that businesses are still seeking workers even though hiring has cooled.

In October, U.S. employers added a paltry 12,000 jobs, a total that economists say was crimped by the effects of strikes and hurricanes that left many workers temporarily off payrolls.

Analysts forecast that the government will report on Friday that U.S. employers added 215,000 jobs in November, a healthy figure more in line with recent months.

A help wanted sign is displayed at a restaurant in Chicago, Ill., Monday, Nov. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)