Raphinha Scores Twice as Barcelona Extend La Liga Lead Against Osasuna

Raphinha struck twice to earn Barcelona a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Osasuna on Saturday, extending their lead at the top of La Liga to seven points.

The Brazilian winger broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a powerful effort from the edge of the area, securing Barcelona’s seventh consecutive league win. Real Madrid, who sit second, travel to Alaves on Sunday hoping to reduce the gap to four points.

Barcelona were below their usual attacking standards but managed to grind out the result, recording their first clean sheet in six matches across all competitions. The win also marked a fifth victory in as many games at their partially reopened Camp Nou.

“(The win) has a lot of merit, they were well organised, it was hard to find a way through. With patience and a lot of possession, we finally did it,” Barcelona defender Gerard Martin told Movistar.

“A clean sheet gives stability to the team and then the goals, they always come.”

Ferran Torres, preferred to Robert Lewandowski following his hat-trick against Real Betis last weekend, had an early chance but sent Lamine Yamal’s cross over the bar. Osasuna threatened on the counter, though Ante Budimir’s low attempt was comfortably saved by Joan Garcia.

Yamal saw two efforts pushed away during a frustrating first half, while Torres had a goal ruled out for offside after heading in Marcus Rashford’s cross. The Spain international also sent an overhead kick narrowly wide, and Garcia denied Budimir again before the break.

Early in the second half, Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera tipped away a Rashford free-kick as Barcelona continued to press. Their persistence paid off when Pedri surged forward and found Raphinha, who drilled a shot into the bottom-right corner.

Osasuna briefly thought they had equalised through Jorge Herrando, but the effort was ruled out after Alejandro Catena collided with Garcia. Four minutes from time, Raphinha sealed the win, tapping in at the far post after Catena deflected Jules Kounde’s cross into his path.

Raphinha, deployed in a central attacking midfield role, was one of Barcelona’s standout players during last season’s domestic treble and has made an immediate impact since returning from injury.

“We’ve got a lot of good players and Rapha, or whoever else plays inside, in the end they give us a lot of solutions in that position,” Martin added.

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