Barcelona beat Osasuna, but it was not a dazzling performance

In the 20th round of La Liga, Barcelona faced Osasuna. A team that usually has no problems getting full points. The last time they beat the Catalan giant was four years ago.

The first half did not produce a goal

Barcelona, as usual, was more active in their stadium and had a huge advantage in possession. But they are not having the best of times.

After several unconvincing results, Barcelona must now concentrate on at least third place, which they are competing for with Atlético Madrid and Bilbao. And it is the duel with the ”favourites” Osasuna shouldn’t be a problem. Barcelona have lost only two points against this team in their last 8 matches.

In addition, Ferran Torres had to leave the pitch in the seventh minute due to injury and was replaced by youngster Fermin Lopéz. But the nervousness was noticeable on the home players. During the half time they did send 8 shots, but only one went on target. The goalkeeper Fernadez made the extra shot. So it went to the booths with no goal.

Barcelona had a lucky hand in the substitutions

In the second half, the situation from the first half was practically repeated. Barcelona had the ball ‘stuck’ on the hoof and sent inaccurate shots on goal. The turning point came in the 62nd minute. The youngster Lopez was replaced by the Brazilian striker Vitor Roque, only 18 years old.

In just one minute on the pitch, he scored his first La Liga goal in the 63rd minute. He scored in the fourth game he played for Barcelona. This goal understandably rattled the nerves of the Osasuna players, as they were rightly looking for at least one point given the way the game was going.

However, all the hopes of the visiting team were dashed by an unnecessary foul by defender Unaia García. He picked up a second yellow card in the 67th minute and unnecessarily sent his team into a game of ten. That was live water for Barcelona.

By the end of the game, the latter was in full control and had made their shooting a little more accurate. However, the score remained unchanged until the end of the match. And so Barcelona scored the obligatory but earned win.

Most importantly, it kept in touch with Atlético Madrid, which is now in third place only thanks to a better score. Fifth-placed Bilbao is five points behind Barca.

Source: La Liga, X