Barça Seek Revenge Against the First Opponent to Defeat Them This Season
Barcelona will be seeking revenge against Osasuna. The team from Pamplona won 4-2 when these sides met back on Matchday 8.
It’s a Matchday 27 fixture which was postponed earlier in the month and it’s a clash between two historic clubs competing for different – yet equally important – objectives this term.
The Catalans currently sit top of the table, level on 60 points with Real Madrid but with this game in hand. After defeating Atlético de Madrid 4-2 in their previous league game, this is a big opportunity to open up a three-point gap to Real Madrid and a seven-point gap to Atleti.
As for CA Osasuna, they haven’t won any of their past five league games and currently sit 14th, but still harbour hopes of European qualification.
Hansi Flick hit the ground running at FC Barcelona on his debut season in the Catalans’ dugout. The German tactician kicked off the campaign with seven straight victories, becoming only the third coach in the club’s history to win his first seven league games.
Yet, Barça’s impressive run was brought to an end by a mighty CA Osasuna, who forced Flick’s first domestic loss on Matchday 8. Bryan Zaragoza set up Ante Budimir for the opener before netting one of his own to give the hosts a two-goal lead before the half-hour mark at El Sadar.
Pau Víctor pulled one back for a rotated FC Barcelona just after the break, but goals from Budimir and Abel Bretones sealed the victory for CA Osasuna.
“In the first half we made a lot of mistakes, it’s not normal we play like this – we had a lot of changes in the team and this is maybe one reason for that,” Flick said after the game. “I think it was necessary. We had so many matches, a lot of players had so many minutes, I have to take care about that. This is my responsibility. If you want to blame someone for this defeat then take me.”
Having beaten FC Barcelona 4-2 on home soil, Los Rojillos are the only LALIGA EA SPORTS side to have scored more than two goals in a game against the league leaders this campaign, also being one of just two teams to whom Barça have lost away from home so far this term.
The Catalans have won 33 of their 42 home league games against CA Osasuna, including 10 of the last 11 in which they’ve kept eight clean sheets. In fact, Los Rojillos haven’t managed to find the back of the net in any of their last four visits to FC Barcelona.
Yet, Barça have demonstrated that they could be vulnerable on home soil. Each of their last three league defeats took place at the Estadi Olímpic, where they lost three straight home duels to Atlético de Madrid, CD Leganés and UD Las Palmas back in November and December.
Hence, while the head-to-head might not be in CA Osasuna’s favour, Los Rojillos have already proven that they should not be underestimated. Flick will seek revenge against the team who dealt him his first league loss as an FC Barcelona coach, but it remains to be seen whether CA Osasuna could pull off a similar upset by ending Barça’s seven-game winning run on Thursday.
