Barcelona have moved 14 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table on Tuesday evening, after a narrow 1-0 victory over Osasuna at the Spotify Camp Nou.
Xavi Hernandez stuck with the same side that comfortably defeated Real Betis on Saturday, and the match started in a similar vein, as the away side went down to 10 men inside the opening half hour.
Frenkie De Jong’s lovely through ball found Pedri, who was taken out by Jorge Herrando. The 22-year-old, making his first La Liga appearance, was the last man, and he was subsequently shown the red card.
Barcelona created very little chances in the first half, but the same could now be said about the second period. Frenkie De Jong, Ousmane Dembele and Robert Lewandowski all had big chances to score, but a combination of poor finishing and excellent goalkeeping from Aitor Fernandez kept the scores level.
Fortunately for Barcelona, they got the breakthrough late on. De Jong’s cushioned header found Jordi Alba, and his strike crept under Fernandez to send the home fans into raptures.
The result should have been more convincing for Barcelona, but they will be pleased nonetheless to have secured another victory, as they look to secure their first La Liga title in four years.
Image via Pep Morata
