Barcelona rides on Raphinha brace to beat Osasuna and consolidates lead in La Liga standings

Raphinha struck twice late in the second half as Barcelona secured a hard-fought 2-0 win over a determined Osasuna side on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of the La Liga standings to seven points.

Hansi Flick’s men are now on 43 points, well clear of second-place Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and will play at Alaves on Sunday.

Barcelona dominated from the start, enjoying an eye-watering 80 percent of possession and firing 24 shots, compared to just three from Osasuna.

However, the visitor’s disciplined five-man defensive line, combined with several excellent saves from goalkeeper Sergio Herrera, frustrated the home side for much of the match.

The Catalans thought they had broken the deadlock in the 23rd minute when Ferran Torres nodded in a looping header from Marcus Rashford’s cross after a short corner.

However, a lengthy VAR review ruled out the goal due to a marginal offside in the build-up.

The best chance of the first half came in the 40th minute, when teenager Lamine Yamal fired down the right flank before delivering an accurate cross to Torres. The attacker unleashed a daring bicycle kick, but shot the ball wide of the far post.

Osasuna’s resilient five held firm as Barcelona swarmed forward in the second half, with Rashford testing Herrera’s acrobatics from a free-kick early after the break.

Yamal remained a constant threat on the right, driving tirelessly at defenders, but the away side absorbed wave after wave of pressure.

Barcelona finally broke Osasuna’s deep defensive block in the 70th minute when Pedri’s incisive pass sliced ​​through the visiting side’s defense and found Raphinha in his stride.

The Brazilian forward took a controlled touch before unleashing a thunderous strike from the edge of the penalty area, firing the ball inside the left post.

Raphinha sealed the victory in the 86th minute. A deflected cross from Jules Kounde on the right found the Brazilian unmarked at the far post and he calmly smashed the ball into an empty net.

«It’s very commendable (what Osasuna did) because they were very compact and we struggled to break them down,» Barcelona defender Gerard Martin said. MovistarPlus. “But with patience and a lot of possession we know that goals will always come, and we finally found them.”

Published on December 14, 2025