Goals: Barcelona – Osasuna – Played on 05/02/ 2023

Alba’s Goal Secures Barcelona’s Win and Brings Them Closer to the La Liga Title

Barcelona secured a hard-won victory against Osasuna, defeating them 1-0 in the 33rd round of the Spanish League. Jordi Alba scored the only goal of the match in the 85th minute, giving his team three valuable points that brought them one step closer to the La Liga title.

Barcelona currently sits at the top of the table with 82 points, 14 points ahead of Real Madrid, who will be playing against Real Sociedad tonight. Osasuna, on the other hand, received its 13th loss in the league championship, which leaves them in ninth place with 44 points.

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Barcelona’s Dominant Performance

Barcelona imposed full control from the first minutes of the game, with Baldi posing a great danger with his runs on the left flank. Pedri missed Barcelona’s most dangerous opportunity in the 25th minute, after which he sent off Jorge Hernando, Osasuna defender, with a direct red card. The task became more difficult for the guests, and Barca doubled its offensive pressure. However, Rafinha and Conde missed two sure chances after golden passes from Frenkie de Jong. Rafinha also hit a free-kick that touched the top of the crossbar, after which he executed a corner, which Araujo met with a dangerous header.

Robert Lewandowski surrendered to marking throughout the first half, while Javi left because he complained of pain in the adductor muscle, to be replaced by Ansu Fati. On the other hand, Ter Stegen was not subjected to real tests, but rather two ineffective shots from Pablo Ibanez and Lucas Toro.

Barcelona’s Second-Half Rush

The Catalan team pressed fiercely in the second half, taking advantage of the numerical shortage in the ranks of their opponents. Xavi Hernandez threw in all his winning cards, as Osman Dembele and Eric Garcia participated in the place of Rafinha and Christensen from the bench. In the first quarter of an hour, Dembele, Fati, Lewandowski, and Frenkie de Jong missed five dangerous attempts at Osasuna’s goal, whose goalkeeper Ettore Fernandez shone in defending his own goal valiantly.

In the midst of this Catalan rush, Munoz hit a long-range ball, which Ter Stegen saved with difficulty, and Kiki Barja completed the guests’ attack with a shot over the crossbar. Jordi Alba and Ferran Torres participated in the place of Busquets and Baldi, and a few seconds after his arrival, Torres almost scored Osasuna with a ball that hit his foot outside the empty goal very strangely.

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Lewandowski’s Disallowed Goal

In the 79th minute, Lewandowski broke the jinx and scored the net with the first goal, but his joy was not complete due to the presence of his colleague Ferran Torres in an offside position.

Barcelona’s Winning Goal

The Catalan giant did not give up, and Jordi Alba scored a goal in the 85th minute, after an attack started by Lewandowski, paved by Frenkie de Jong, and Alba completed it into the net with a direct shot with his left. In the final remaining minutes, Pedri and Ansu Fati missed the opportunity to double the score with a second goal, holding the fans’ breath at Camp Nou until the final whistle sounded after three minutes of stoppage time.