Assuming all goes to plan in the next few weeks for Real Sociedad, last night's 1-0 win over Barcelona could prove to be the real launchpad for David Moyes in La Liga.

From the early signs, he has brought an intensity and fighting spirit to the Basque side.

"Sociedad under Moyes don't have a lot of goals, but they do have defensive solidity now in a way they didn't have before he arrived," said Ben.

But Moyes's achievement has also added to the pressure on Barcelona manager Luis Enrique who rested Lionel Messi and Neymar, only to bring them on to chase the game in the second half.

"A lot was made of the fact that Messi was left on the bench. But he was given time off over the Christmas holidays to recharge in Argentina and he came back late because he got that extra time off. It was the same for Neymar. They weren't quite ready yet," said Ben, who spoke about the renewed question marks over Messi's future amid rumours that he is less than enthused by Enrique's management.

With the transfer ban and the removal of the club's Director of Football Andoni Zubizarreta, the "entorno" which surrounds the becomes even more intense. 

Zubizarreta's assistant and expected replacement Carles Puyol also resigned, saying that he had learnt about the other side of the club. But is there a double-edged sword to what he said on his Facebook page?

Listen to that as well to Ben's analsyis of Real Madrid's defeat to Valencia on the Football Show podcast: