FC Barcelona edged closer to the La Liga title with a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to CA Osasuna at El Sadar, setting up the possibility of sealing the crown against rivals Real Madrid CF next weekend.
Robert Lewandowski came closest to breaking the deadlock in the opening stages, but his powerful rising strike drifted narrowly wide of the post.
Barcelona dominated possession early on, with Dani Olmo causing constant problems through his movement and creativity. However, Osasuna remained threatening on the counter, and Ante Budimir had two decent opportunities in the opening 20 minutes.
The hosts were forced into desperate defending at times, with Javi Galán producing a crucial goal-line header to deny Eric GarcÃa. Moments later, goalkeeper Sergio Herrera reacted sharply to smother Roony Bardghji’s low long-range effort.
Although both sides approached the match positively, clear-cut chances remained scarce as the game progressed toward half-time.
Barcelona created the more promising attacking moves, but their final delivery repeatedly let them down. Osasuna nearly punished them when Budimir struck the post after a brilliant solo run from midfield.
A careless pass from João Cancelo just before the interval summed up Barcelona’s occasionally sloppy display, as the first half ended goalless despite an entertaining contest.
