Osasuna vs Barcelona Review
Osasuna had a memorable night as they triumphed over Barcelona 4-2 in La Liga, with Bryan Zaragoza contributing a goal and an assist in the first half, helping the Rojillos break a streak of five winless matches against the Blaugrana.
The Rojillos displayed strong early aggression, particularly with passes aimed at exploiting Barça’s young defense, although the visitors initially held their ground, with Eric García blocking a shot from Zaragoza. Ante Budimir made a strong run up the field around the 15-minute mark, but his shot narrowly missed the far post. Shortly after, he opened the scoring when Bryan created space from Jules Koundé and sent in a perfect cross that Budimir headed in expertly, beating Pau Cubarsí to the ball.
Osasuna was relentless and created another moment of danger when Iñaki Peña rushed out of his area, only managing to clear the ball to Rubén García, whose shot struck Budimir. Moments later, Peña found himself on the ground as Bryan seized Pablo Ibáñez’s perfectly timed through ball and cleverly rolled it around the goalkeeper to score. The Blaugrana managed to regain some control, but struggled to connect with Robert Lewandowski in their crosses, with Koundé coming closest just before halftime with a header that hit the crossbar.
After the break, Barça finally got Lewandowski more involved, but he sent a free-kick agonizingly wide and was then thwarted by Sergio Herrera. However, the goalkeeper soon gave the visitors a chance to get back into the game by throwing the ball directly to Gerard Martín, and then failing to stop Pau Víctor’s shot as he stumbled. Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were brought on with Osasuna under pressure just before the hour mark, but the hosts fought back, with Budimir coming close, and Ferran Torres slipping through only to be denied by Herrera.
Budimir increased his team’s lead by converting a penalty awarded after a foul by Sergi Domínguez, sending the ball beyond Peña’s reach. The night was further highlighted by a remarkable goal from Abel Bretones in the 85th minute. Although Yamal answered back with a stunning goal, Osasuna secured their fourth straight win at El Sadar in a single La Liga season for the first time since March 2008. This accomplishment is particularly significant as it came against a Barcelona team that had maintained a flawless record in the league this season.
