Raphinha to the rescue

El Clasico at the end of November was one of Barcelona’s weakest performances of the season. A deserved defeat to Real Madrid and the surrender of top spot to their greatest rivals. And then — perfection. At least in terms of results on Spanish soil. Since then, the Catalans have won all seven of their league matches, the latest coming against Osasuna in the 16th round of La Liga — 2–0. Hansi Flick’s side have recorded five victories in just 15 days, allowing them, at least temporarily, to pull seven points clear of Real Madrid at the top. This evening, that was made possible by Raphinha, who in the 70th minute found a way to break down the Pamplona side’s defensive wall, before sealing the win some fifteen minutes later after the visitors gifted him a tap-in.

Ahead of a match in which Barcelona dominated, created a plethora of chances and limited Osasuna’s attacking threat — which is to say they completely neutralised the visitors’ top scorer Ante Budimir — Pedri presented Lamine Yamal with the award for La Liga Player of the Month for November. Yamal scored three goals and provided four assists last month, but since the start of the season Pedri has been the undisputed architect of Barcelona’s play. Barcelona had a Ferran Torres goal disallowed early on; the team’s top scorer later saw his bicycle kick come to nothing, as did an effort from Eric García, while Marcus Rashford’s free kick was brilliantly saved by Sergio Herrera.

Osasuna held out until the 70th minute, when Pedri opened up the pitch and slipped Raphinha into a shooting position good enough for the Brazilian to register his fifth league goal of the season. When he hit the empty net in the 86th minute, it marked Barcelona’s 100th goal in 2025. By comparison, the second-most prolific attack in the calendar year belongs to Real Madrid with 69 goals, followed by Villarreal on 68.

LA LIGA - ROUND 16

Friday

Sociedad - Girona 1-2 (1-0)

/Guedes 35 - Tsygankov 76, 84/

Saturday

Atletico Madrid - Valencia 2-1 (1-0)

/Koke 17, Griezmann 74 - Beltran 63/

Mallorca - Elche (1-1)

/Morlanes 5 - Maffeo 21 og/

Barcelona - Osasuna 2-0 (0-0)

/Raphinha 70, 86/

23.00: (2.60) Getafe (2.90) Espanyol (3.35)

Sunday

16.00: (1.90) Sevilla (3.35) Oviedo (4.75)

18.15: (2.75) Celta (3.20) Ath.Bilbao (2.85)

20.30: (4.50) Levante (4.20) Villareal (1.75)

23.00: (5.30) Alaves (3.60) Real Madrid (1.70)

Monday

23.00: (2.60) Rayo Vallecano (3.50) Betis (2.80)

*** odds are subject to change ***