"It's hard to understand how the first half ended goalless. Barça had a pretty strong penalty shout ignored, a goal disallowed for a strange (but correct) offside call, two really good chances inside the box that Ferran Torres barely missed, and a shot from distance by Eric Garcia that went agonizingly wide. Seeing a 0-0 scoreline is certainly frustrating, but Barça's overall performance was strong."
"Despite the strong performance from the team as a whole, Raphinha was nowhere near his best in a central position. Hansi Flick has used the Brazilian in that role a lot since the start of last season, but he is clearly so much better as a left winger and Marcus Rashford did nothing in the first half to justify moving Raphinha away from his best position."
"The start of the second half was just as strong, with a dangerous free-kick by Rashford, a cross by Alejandro Balde that just needed a touch from a Barça player to go in, and several other "almost" moments. But it took until the 70th minute for Pedri to run with the ball for 50 yards and find Raphinha in a perfect (central) position to shoot, score and find a much-deserved breakthrough. FINALLY!"
Barcelona dominated Osasuna at Camp Nou and secured a 2-0 win that opened a seven-point gap atop La Liga. The first half produced numerous chances but ended 0-0 after a missed penalty shout, a disallowed offside goal, Ferran Torres close calls and an Eric Garcia effort narrowly wide. Osasuna's defensive 5-4-1 shape made breakthroughs difficult, yet Barcelona created chances through probing passing, crosses and shots. Raphinha struggled in a central role, with Marcus Rashford's first-half display not justifying the switch. The second half saw sustained pressure, and Pedri’s 70th-minute run set up Raphinha’s finish, who completed a brace to seal victory and a seventh straight league win.
Read at Barca Blaugranes
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