Raphinha struck twice in the final 20 minutes to guide Barcelona to a 2-0 victory over a stubborn Osasuna side, extending their lead at the top of LaLiga to seven points. But despite controlling the vast majority of possession at the Spotify Camp Nou, the hosts were forced to wait until late in the second half to break down the visitors' deep defensive block.
Barcelona thought they had taken the lead early when Ferran Torres headed in a Marcus Rashford cross, only for VAR to rule it out for a marginal offside against Raphinha in the buildup. The first half was all frustration for the Catalans, who fired off numerous shots but were denied repeatedly by Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.
The visitors nearly snatched a lead after the break when Victor Munoz raced clear on a counter-attack, but he fired wide with only Joan Garcia to beat, sparing Barcelona’s blushes.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 70th minute through a moment of quality from Pedri, whose incisive pass split the defence to find Raphinha. The Brazilian forward took a controlled touch before drilling a powerful strike from the edge of the box into the bottom corner.
"It's very commendable (what Osasuna did) because they were very compact and we struggled to break them down," Barcelona defender Gerard Martin told Movistar Plus. "But with patience and a lot of ball possession, we know that goals always come and we finally found them."
Raphinha secured the three points in the 86th minute, volleying into an empty net at the far post after a deflected cross from Jules Kounde fell kindly into his path.
The brace capped a decisive performance for the winger, who emphasized the team's internal focus post-match. "We need to focus on ourselves and if we do our job then we won't have to worry about anyone else," Raphinha said. "We are playing better than before and the more points, the better."
This marks Barcelona's seventh consecutive league victory, pushing their status as title favorites heading into December. Manager Hansi Flick, who recently confirmed Joan Garcia remains his first-choice goalkeeper over the returning Marc-Andre ter Stegen, remained grounded despite the widening gap over Real Madrid.
"The important thing is to look at ourselves," Flick told reporters. "The right attitude is not to be happy with what we've already got. We have to keep going."