Raphinha and Pedri lead Barça to another victory

BarcelonaBarça's two in-form heroes, Pedri and Raphinha, unlocked the Barça defense against Osasuna (2-0), allowing the Blaugrana to maintain their unstoppable lead at the top of La Liga. After a first half in which the Catalan side came close to scoring but couldn't find the net against their opponent's well-organized defense, the Brazilian finally broke the deadlock with a counter-attack masterfully orchestrated by the Canary Islander with 20 minutes remaining. Raphinha himself sealed the victory with a brace. Three hard-fought points (and a clean sheet) for Hansi Flick's men, adding more pressure to Real Madrid, who visit Alavés this Sunday (9 pm).

Osasuna, a rival that had only scored three away goals, was certainly not the toughest opponent to beat, but the Blaugrana took to the pitch with the energy, play, and determination they had shown in the final matches of the league season, which they had lost for too long against Eintracht Frankfurt. Against the Germans, they had to win and avoid complications in the Champions League; with the return of La Liga, it was also necessary to rediscover their joy. And so it was, although the first goal was a long time coming because Osasuna, while not particularly intimidating beyond the occasional runs of the small but speedy Víctor Muñoz, did manage to weave a solid defensive web that allowed them to dream of getting something from their visit to the Camp Nou. The Blaugrana started brightly. Hansi Flick made some tactical changes, leaving regular starters like Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong on the bench, and showed that performance also pays off. Ferran Torres, who had scored a hat trick Against Betis at La Cartuja, he was a substitute against Eintracht. However, against Osasuna, he returned to the starting eleven. As for the Dutchman, the coach had already warned that if he wants to regain his place, he'll have to hurry because Eric Garcia continues to improve in the pivot position. Against the Navarrese side, he excelled again in this position: a good way to celebrate the contract extension until 2031 that the club and player made official this week. He even managed a couple of shots in the first half.

With Ferran Torres in attack, Barça regained mobility in that position. Hansi Flick preferred to rest Fermín López's energy and opted for Raphinha, who grew into the game in the attacking midfield role. The wings started brightly, with Rashford appealing for a penalty after a great pass from Eric Garcia, and Lamine Yamal sharpening his dribbling skills and finding Ferran Torres, who loves to appear at the near post and almost opened the scoring with a shot that went over the bar. The Valencian did find the net with a superb header, but VAR disallowed the goal for Barça due to an offside by Raphinha at the start of the move.

Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres were everywhere: the number 10, daring and dancing past his defenders, delivered another ball into the box that the Foios native converted with an overhead kick that narrowly missed the target. Earlier, Joan Garcia had reminded everyone that, despite Osasuna's limited attacks, he was there if they dared to enter the penalty area. He demonstrated this with a great save with his foot against Ante Budimir. Had he found the net, the goal would have been ruled offside. Barça finished the first half on the attack, with a final shot from Lamine Yamal that Sergio Herrera dealt with comfortably.

After the break, they needed to convert their positive momentum into goals. Although it was the visitors who initially put a bit of a scare on the Barça players, with Víctor Muñoz challenging Alejandro Balde to a sprint. It was just a minor scare, as Barça seemed poised to continue their dominance, with Lamine Yamal delivering pinpoint crosses into the Osasuna penalty area, packed with players' legs—so many that Catena almost scored an own goal. However, Barça gradually faded, becoming increasingly flat and lacking ideas, while Osasuna grew more comfortable defending.

Just as Flick was preparing to shake things up and freshen up the attack, Barça's two current heroes, Pedri and Raphinha, guided the team to victory. Cubarsi intelligently recovered the ball and passed it to Eric Garcia, who then found Pedri, and from there, everything accelerated with a skillful run and pass from the Canary Islander for the Brazilian to finish the move. It took Barça 70 minutes to overcome a battling Osasuna side. Raphinha, fortunate to collect a rebound from Catena at the far post, sealed the victory in the last match of the year at the new Camp Nou.