FC Barcelona's La Liga winning streak of seven matchdays has been compromised as Osasuna defeats the Blaugrana club 4-2 at the El Sadar. Coming into the fixture after impressive wins against Getafe, Villarreal, and Girona, much was expected of the Catalan Giants. However, they didn't stand a chance against the hosts, who simply outplayed them from the first minute.
Osasuna breaks FC Barcelona's La Liga winning streak as they defeat them 4-2
So far this season, one of the greatest strengths of Hansi Flick's Barca setup had been to replicate their previous heroics with a much-rotated lineup, but that wasn't the case against Osasuna, who were too good for the inexperienced Barca side. Barring a few names like Captain Pedri and Robert Lewandowski, the rest of the squad seemed too inexperienced to face an athletic Osasuna front three.
From the first minutes only, the hosts had made it clear they would play it the attacking way. Soon, their efforts materialized as a beautiful ball from Bryan Zaragoza found an onrushing Budimir, who put it past Inaki Pena without much difficulty. Chances after chances, Osasuna's front three looked too good for the heavily rotated Blaugrana backline consisting of Sergi Dominguez, Gerard Martin, along a 17-year-old Cubarsi and seasoned star Jules Kounde.
Not much later, the hosts thumped another goal, as this time Bryan Zaragoza himself rounded Pena in a 1-on-1 situation, doubling the lead for themselves. With the Catalan club going 2-0 down within the first 28 minutes only, an incoming loss looked more certain as Flick's side highly struggled to move the ball into the final third.
Minutes into the second half, prodigy star Pau Victor was lucky enough to pull off a goal back for his side, excitingly increasing chances of a potential comeback. Moreover, with two of the club's best players, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, being subbed in the 59th minute, a faint but possible fightback seemed incoming. The duo's incoming changed much of Barca's momentum, with the ball traversing into Osasuna's box much more frequently; however, a 71st-minute penalty foul by Dominguez destroyed all hopes.
With Budimir converting it calmly, he made the scoreline 3-1 in Osasuna's favor, moving his individual goal total to two. Moreover, an ecstatic strike from Bretones in the 85th minute sealed the matchday for the hosts, with Inaki Pena conceding his 4th one of the night. In the end, although Barca's sensational winger Lamine Yamal pulled off a consolation goal with an out-of-the-box rocket, it certainly wasn't enough to get some points.
Overall, the 4-2 loss in the away fixture at El Sadar has broken FC Barcelona's winning streak, which came as a rather shock compared to their previous fixture results. However, with the Champions League fixture coming up next, the club would hope to focus on that game, trying to get their first 3 points in the new campaign.