Barcelona have suffered their very first defeat in La Liga this season. They made a solid start to the new campaign under Hansi Flick. Barcelona had won all their first 7 games in La Liga. But against all odds, Osasuna humiliated the league leader as they destroyed Barcelona by a 4-2 margin at El Sadar.
Match Report
Osasuna welcomed Barcelona last night at El Sadar to play the seventh league game. Both managers used the same 4-3-3 formation in this match, but Barca boss Hansi Flick made several changes to the starting XI. Due to the tight fixture, Flick decided to give some players a rest. He benched Lamine Yamal and Raphinha, while goalkeeper Ter Stegan is out of the team for the rest of the season due to a serious injury.
However, the match started with both teams playing aggressive football. But Osasuna stunned the visitors very early as they took the lead in just 18 minutes when Ante Budamir scored a fantastic goal with a powerful header. This first goal was a massive boost for the home team, leading them to double the lead. Osasuna went 2-0 up when Bryan Zaragoza displayed his brilliant skill to beat Barca keeper Pena Sotorres to find the back of the net in the 28th minute.
Barcelona, however, failed to score a goal in the first half. As a result, Osasuna went to the break with a two-goal lead at El Sadar.
Returning from the break, Barcelona tried very hard to overcome and got a lifeline when Osasuna keeper Sergio Herrera failed to stop Pau Victor’s weak shot from a distance. But this goal did not break Osasuna as they were very desperate to secure a full three points against the league leader.
The opportunity came when Barca defender Sergi Dominguez fouled Ante Budamir inside the box, resulting in Osasuna getting a penalty kick. However, Budamir himself stepped up to take the spot kick and made no mistake!
Osasuna midfielder Abel Bretones killed the game for Barcelona when he made the scoreline 4-1 with a beautiful finish in the 85th minute. However, Lamine Yamal returned one for Barcelona after coming off the bench. He scored a brilliant goal outside of the box in the last minute, but it did not save Barcelona from losing the match at El Sadar.
Barcelona manager Hansi Flick did not blame his players and took all the responsibilities. He said, “You have to accept these defeats. We didn’t play very well. I think it’s my responsibility.”
“(With the rotations) I tried to protect the players, because they have been playing a lot of minutes. But I didn’t expect us to play like this,” Flick added.
