Barcelona travelled to Pamplona this afternoon to lock horns with Osasuna at El Sadar in La Liga. It was always going to be a tricky fixture – it’s never easy going to El Sadar – and so it proved to be. A thrilling, event-filled encounter finished up 2-2.
Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute, with two of the brightest prospects at the club combining to devastating effect. Gavi picked out Nico inside the penalty area with an incisive pass and the Galician finished coolly to make it 1-0. Just two minutes later, however, Osasuna were level. David Garcia scored a header after a set piece was floated in from the right side.
Barcelona then regained the lead in the 49th minute through Ez Abde, their most dangerous player. Barcelona broke like lightning after an Osasuna attack, with the ball eventually falling to the teenager at the back post. He made no mistake with the finish.
The game wasn’t done yet, however, and substitute Chimy Avila equalised for Osasuna in the 87th minute. The ball fell to him at the edge of the box and the Argentine finished with conviction past Marc-Andre ter Stegen into the bottom corner of the net.
“It’s a shame,” Gerard Pique said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “I think we played well, and we competed at a very difficult ground. Their game is based on set-pieces. In the end, it came to a loose ball at the edge of the box…
“It’s a shame because I think it was a good game, when you consider where we came from. We leave with one point, unhappy with the result. We have to take three from each game.
“The objective now is to think about the next game, only in the short term. We know that in the long run these youngsters are going to be very good for the club. But we have to get results. Win and win again. It’s really urgent. We’re in a critical situation.”
