On Sunday night at El Sadar, Barcelona defeated Osasuna 2-1 in a hard-fought triumph, their third straight La Liga success.
The Blaugrana may count themselves lucky to have defeated an Osasuna team that outperformed them on the night since they did not play even close to their best the whole game.
However, a late penalty by Robert Lewandowski gave the reigning champions three crucial points in Pamplona and clinched the match.
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Barça Wastes Early Chances, Loses Momentum
A minute into the game, Barça had the opportunity to score. Robert Lewandowski, Frenkie De Jong, and Ilkay Gündogan all wasted triple opportunities inside the box. The Blaugrana appeared to be aiming to start strong and establish their supremacy on the road.
After the early opportunities, the Catalans failed to gain momentum. They opted for sluggish and uncreative passing in the middle of the field, which gave Osasuna plenty of time to comfortably set up their defense. To prevent serious disturbance, they efficiently arranged themselves and blocked off areas.
Ter Stegen Keeps Barça in Game Against Osasuna
The only time Barça’s offensive got going was when Lamine Yamal touched the ball and charged at defenders. But there weren’t many opportunities for the youngster to truly strike his opponent. Instead, he observed how his colleagues moved the ball in the last third without actually making any incisive plays.
Osasuna, on the other hand, immediately sent bodies forward, created danger with rapid passing, and utilized clever movement off the ball, doing precisely what needed to be done with the ball.
They had two excellent chances, and Marc-André ter Stegen had to react to block an effort from José Arnaiz that bounced off the crossbar and made a huge save on what appeared to be an easy goal for Aimar Oroz.
Barça scrapes through to halftime with a goal
At the half, it looked like the game would go scoreless, but Barça scored with the final shot of the half. In the penultimate play before halftime, Jules Kounde scored a stunning header after Gündogan fired a corner into the area. It gave the Blaugrana the lead.
Despite playing poorly at the half, the Catalans were in the lead. To add to their total and secure the win in the second half, they still needed to play at a higher level.
Osasuna made an equalizer against Barcelona in the second half
For the final quarter, Osasuna had a clear strategy: they wanted to avoid conceding a goal right away and gradually pushed higher up the field to try to get an equalizer.
Because the home team kept a low block and allowed Barça to have more of their tedious and sluggish possession, the plan was successful. This possession did not present any obvious possibilities. The hosts increased their offensive after the 60th minute and put more players forward.
With half an hour remaining, Ferran Torres and Joao Cancelo made their debuts to help Barça’s assault, but the Blaugrana struggled to keep possession owing to their midfield’s poor passing.
Cancelo nearly set up Lewandowski for a spectacular goal in his debut, but the Portuguese right-back was offside, and the goal was disallowed.
As the game entered the last 20 minutes, it was clear that Osasuna was the superior team. It came down to whether or not Barça could score a second goal by exploiting the space behind the defense before the home club could level.
Barcelona’s comeback win over Osasuna in the last quarter
Barça did not score the second goal, the equalizer was unavoidable. Chimy Avila was given a pass right outside the box and was given as much time as he needed to find a shooting opportunity. Five Barça defenders stood by as the striker finally unleashed a magnificent shot that deflected against the post and handed the hosts a well-deserved goal.
Barça had 15 minutes of extra time to put together some real offense and seek for a winner. As Xavi Hernández attempted to make the squad more offensive-minded, Joao Félix replaced Oriol Romeu.
With Félix on the field, Barça had a fantastic opportunity to score. Alejandro Catena was sent off for bringing down Lewandowski within the area and denying him a good scoring opportunity. Lewandowski cleanly converted the penalty, and Barcelona seized the lead against 10 men in the last seconds.
Barça Survives Osasuna Challenge
In the end, Osasuna had nothing to lose and threw caution to the wind in their pursuit of a second equalizer on the night. On set pieces, they produced one or two highly risky situations. However, Barça’s defense held firm to prevent serious difficulty, and the front players did well in maintaining the ball to run out the time.
After 11 minutes of stoppage time, Barça won despite being outplayed on the night. After a rough first month on and off the pitch, Lewandowski delivered when it counted most, and Barça now has 10 points out of a possible 12.
Things might certainly be worse, and scoring points while creating team camaraderie is a positive thing. If and when Barça starts to play well this season, this bunch has a lot of potentials.
My name is Krishanu Das the founder of the Sports Dribble.
I am Accountant by profession but a Sports Blogger by passion.
I am passionate about sharing my all knowledge and experiences of sports, with my readers and every sports enthusiast.
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