Raphinha double stretches Barca's Liga lead in Osasuna win
Raphinha scored twice to secure a tight 2-0 victory for Barcelona against Osasuna on Saturday, extending their lead at the summit of La Liga to seven points.
The Brazil international winger opened the scoring in the 70th minute with a powerful shot from the edge of the penalty area, marking Barcelona's seventh consecutive league triumph.
Real Madrid, sitting in second, face Alaves on Sunday with hopes of reducing the deficit on the title holders to just four points.
Barcelona showed less of their typical flair yet managed to secure the result, achieving their first shutout in six outings across various competitions.
This also marked their fifth successive home win at the partially restored Camp Nou stadium.
"(The victory) shows plenty of merit, as they were tightly organised and it was tough to penetrate. Through patience and dominating the ball, we eventually succeeded," Barcelona's Gerard Martin said to Movistar.
"Keeping a clean sheet brings steadiness to the squad, and the goals tend to follow."
Ferran Torres, selected ahead of Robert Lewandowski following his treble against Real Betis last weekend, could have put Barcelona in front early but sliced his volley over the crossbar from Lamine Yamal's inviting delivery.
In reply, Ante Budimir's angled shot was easily gathered by Joan Garcia, as Osasuna aimed to catch Barcelona on the break.
Yamal saw two attempts pushed away in a largely disappointing opening 45 minutes for both the young player and his team.
Torres nodded in from Marcus Rashford's centre, only for the effort to be chalked off due to an offside infringement in the buildup.
The Spanish forward also unleashed a spectacular bicycle kick that narrowly missed, while Garcia made another solid stop to thwart Budimir just before halftime.
Eventual breakthrough
Osasuna's Sergio Herrera palmed away a Marcus Rashford free kick shortly after the restart, as Barcelona pushed to maintain their streak.
Struggling to unlock Osasuna's defence, they finally succeeded when the impressive Pedri advanced and picked out Raphinha, who rifled the ball into the bottom right corner from the box's edge.
Jorge Herrando of Osasuna, red carded on his club debut at the previous Camp Nou in 2023, saw his goal disallowed after colliding with Barcelona keeper Garcia alongside Alejandro Catena.
Soon after, with four minutes left, Raphinha converted at the far post when Catena inadvertently redirected Jules Kounde's cross towards the Brazilian.
Starting unusually in central attacking midfield, Raphinha proved vital last term during Barcelona's domestic treble success and has quickly regained form post injury.
"We possess many talented players, and whether it's Rapha or another in that role, they provide us with numerous options there," Martin added.