Raphinha boosts Barca's La Liga advantage as Atletico recover form
Raphinha scored twice to secure Barcelona a tight 2-0 victory against Osasuna on Saturday, placing them seven points ahead at the summit of La Liga.
Atletico Madrid in fourth position got back to winning with a 2-1 triumph over Valencia, capped by an excellent goal from Antoine Griezmann, while Espanyol, sitting fifth, maintained their impressive form with a 1-0 success away to Getafe.
Barca's Brazilian forward Raphinha opened the scoring in the 70th minute with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area, then netted again towards the end to claim Barca's seventh consecutive league victory.
Real Madrid, who are second, face Alaves on Sunday with the intention of reducing the deficit to the title holders to just four points.
Although Barca did not display their typical flair, they managed to secure the win and achieved their first clean sheet in six games across various competitions.
They also notched up a fifth win in five outings at their partially reopened Camp Nou stadium.
"Raphinha plays a vital role. He netted twice and stands out as a crucial team member. He contributes both defensively and offensively - he is essential to us," commented Flick.
"We may not have created numerous opportunities, yet we managed two goals and collected the three points."
Ferran Torres could have put Barca in front early, but he sliced his shot over the bar from Lamine Yamal's threatening delivery.
Yamal saw a pair of attempts saved in what was largely a challenging first half for the young player and his team.
Torres nodded in from Marcus Rashford's cross, though the effort was chalked off due to an offside during the buildup.
The Spanish forward unleashed a spectacular overhead kick that narrowly missed, and Barca's keeper Joan Garcia made a superb stop to thwart Ante Budimir prior to halftime.
Barca struggled to penetrate Osasuna's defence but succeeded when the outstanding Pedri advanced and picked out Raphinha just outside the box, allowing him to fire into the bottom right corner.
Osasuna's Jorge Herrando, who received a red card on his club debut at the previous Camp Nou in 2023, saw his shot disallowed following a clash between Alejandro Catena and Barca's goalkeeper Garcia.
Shortly afterwards, Raphinha finished from close range at the far post after Alejandro Catena inadvertently redirected Jules Kounde's cross towards the Brazilian with four minutes left.
Raphinha, who featured unusually in a central attacking midfield spot at the start, proved to be among the club's standout performers last term during their domestic treble success, and following an injury layoff, he has quickly made his presence felt upon returning.
"We possess many talented players, and Rapha, or any other inside, ultimately provides us with plenty of options in that area," stated Barca's Gerard Martin.
Atletico regain momentum
Strikes from skipper Koke and Griezmann offered Diego Simeone's fourth-placed Atletico Madrid a welcome boost, despite lagging nine points behind Barca.
Atletico had clawed their way into contention for the Spanish crown following a sluggish season opening, prior to back-to-back damaging league losses to Barca and Athletic Bilbao in early December.
They built on a midweek Champions League win at PSV with a dependable performance at the Metropolitano against Los Che.
"It proved difficult for us to establish our flow, but ultimately the replacements injected that energy and pace, enabling our victory today," Griezmann, introduced after the break, said to DAZN.
Valencia started brightly, with Hugo Duro striking the bar, but they fell behind from a corner melee. Keeper Julen Agirrezabala blocked an initial shot but could not prevent Koke from converting the loose ball.
Valencia, in 16th spot, equalised just past the hour mark as Beltran's long-range effort deceived Atletico's Jan Oblak.
Simeone's team clinched it via Griezmann, who controlled Marc Pubill's aerial pass with his left foot, anticipated the rebound, and smashed it beyond Agirrezabala for his fifth goal in the league.
Under Manolo Gonzalez, Espanyol stayed close to Atletico with Leandro Cabrera's header soon after halftime securing a win at Getafe and enhancing their prospects for European qualification next year.
Villarreal in third have their match at Levante likely delayed due to predicted storms in the area, as the Valencia authorities have asked La Liga to cancel the fixture.