Raphinha Double Fires Barcelona Seven Points Clear at Top of La Liga
A second-half brace from Raphinha powered past a resilient , extending their advantage at the summit of La Liga to seven points over .
The defending champions had dominated proceedings but struggled to turn pressure into goals, outshooting Osasuna 21-3 before finally breaking through in the 70th minute. The Brazilian winger opened the scoring with a precise effort into the bottom corner from the edge of the box, then sealed the win late on by finishing at the back post after a deflected cross fell kindly into his path in the 86th minute.
Earlier, thought he had given Barcelona the lead midway through the first half, timing his run perfectly to head home a cross from . However, VAR intervened to rule the goal out after spotting an offside heel in the build-up from a short-corner routine.
Torres went close again soon after, rising to meet an inviting inswinging delivery from , but his first-time header drifted over the bar. Despite spending much of the match defending deep, Osasuna remained dangerous on the counter and almost struck early in the second half when burst past only to shoot wide with goalkeeper to beat.
Barcelona’s breakthrough finally came when surged forward from midfield, slipped a pass through to Raphinha, and watched him calmly finish past . With Osasuna’s resistance broken, the hosts wrapped up the points in the closing moments.
Just seven weeks ago, Barcelona were five points adrift of Real Madrid following a 2-1 defeat in El Clasico. Now, after seven straight league victories, they sit seven points clear, although Real can cut the gap to four if they overcome on Sunday.