League | Osasuna inflicts its first defeat on FC Barcelona (4-2)

FC Barcelona’s good run ended on Saturday evening in La Liga. For the eighth day of the 2024-2025 Spanish championship, the leader lost heavily on the pitch at El Sadar against Osasuna (4-2). On the eve of a highly anticipated Madrid derby between Atlético and Real, Hans-Dieter Flick had decided to rotate his squad and sit on his four-point cushion in the general classification. Facing a team undefeated at home since the start of the season, Barça proved unrecognizable and sees the pressure increasing before hosting Young Boys Bern in the Champions League next Tuesday.

If the first seven days looked like a walk in the park for Flick’s Barça, this trip to Pamplona turned into a trap. At the heart of a fast-paced schedule, the German technician wanted to breathe new life into his usual starting lineup. Result of the races: Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Íñigo Martínez started the match on the substitutes’ bench to make way for the Catalan youth. In the central hinge, Pau Cubarsi (17 years old) and Sergi Dominguez (19 years old) had their work cut out for them to neutralize the experienced Ante Budimir. A mission that turned out to be very complex in practice…

Raphinha during FC Barcelona’s defeat against Osasuna in La Liga, September 28, 2024

Zaragoza and Budimir as executioners

Dynamo of the local attack, Bryan Zaragoza proved to be decisive in igniting the powder. With a perfectly measured cross, the winger on loan from Bayern Munich offered the opener for Budimir with a superb header (1-0, 18th). Jostled like the young Pau Victor (22) in the midfield, Barça conceded a second goal on a delicious feint from Zaragoza to dribble past Inaki Pena and score in the empty goal (2-0, 28th). On the offensive level, Barça appeared amorphous: the first shot on target came very late after a header from Eric Garcia (44th).

If the first act was far too thin to hope for anything other than a defeat, no replacement took place at the start of the second period. Certainly, Barça managed to reduce the gap through Victor in an action tinged with success (2-1, 54th). Certainly, Yamal and Raphinha entered shortly after the hour mark to restore energy to the Blaugrana attack. But in reality, Osasuna was too confident to start doubting. Guilty of an indisputable penalty, Dominguez allowed Budimir to drive home the point with a double (72nd, 3-1). At the end of the match, the incoming Abel Bretones transformed the defeat into a slap (85th, 4-1), then Yamal shook the nets to boost his individual statistics (89th, 4-2). Barça will remain the leader whatever happens at the end of the weekend, but this match undeniably shows its first cracks.