Barcelona strengthened their position at the top of the La Liga table after securing a comeback 2-1 victory over CA Osasuna away from home on Tuesday night.
Having gone a goal down and then lost star striker Robert Lewandowski to a red card in the first half, Xavi’s men showed great resilience and fighting spirit to mount a comeback as goals from Pedri and Raphinha secured a vital victory for the Blaugrana.
It ensures that they now have a five-point lead over rivals Real Madrid, who even if they beat Cadiz tomorrow, will remain second in the table heading into the World Cup break.
Pedri spoke to the media after the game and said: “It was a difficult game and harder cause of the sending-off. We got our chances, and we took them. Osasuna are a very intense team, we knew the game was going to be like that. More so, with the sending off.“
“We knew that we had to be very strong defensively. That was our mentality in the second half. The team was able to be together today. It is a victory in which we had a lot of character and a good mentality.”
Talking about Lewandowski’s sending-off, the midfield prodigy added: “I think Lewandowski’s foul before his first yellow card is an action that is seen often in many games, and it’s not usually booked.”
On Gerard Pique’s red card after the veteran defender lashed out at the referee, Pedri said: “When you see an injustice, you want to say something, this happens in football.”
Match-winner Raphinha also spoke to the media after the victory and insisted that it was an important win for the team, saying: “It was a very complicated game, but if we want to win the league we have to win these types of games.”
On his goal, which was assisted by a stunning long ball from Frenkie de Jong, Raphinha said: “Frenkie knows how to make those passes like nobody else. The goalkeeper comes out because he thinks I’m going to control, I wait for the moment to touch the ball with my head.”
Marcos Alonso rejoiced at the team’s win against the odds, saying: “Today, everything was against us. But we fought hard, so this is a huge win.”
“Now it’s time to rest and enjoy this victory. We are where we want to be… At the top of the table,” the summer signing added.
Source: BarçaTV+
