Raphinha scored twice as Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-0 at the partially reopened Camp Nou on Saturday to move seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
The Brazilian winger broke the deadlock after 70 minutes, striking from the edge of the box to earn Barca their seventh straight league win, before adding a second late on to settle a contest that had tested their patience. The result put pressure on second-placed Real Madrid, who visit Alaves on Sunday looking to cut the gap back to four points.
Barcelona were short of their usual fluency but ground out the victory, recording their first clean sheet in six matches across all competitions and a fifth win from five games at home since returning to Camp Nou in stages.
Ferran Torres, preferred to Robert Lewandowski after his hat-trick against Real Betis last weekend, passed up an early chance when he hooked over from Lamine Yamal’s inviting cross. Osasuna threatened on the counter, Ante Budimir seeing a low effort comfortably gathered by Joan Garcia.
Yamal had two efforts beaten away during a frustrating first half for both the teenager and the hosts. Torres thought he had given Barcelona the lead when he headed in from Marcus Rashford’s cross, only for the goal to be ruled out for offside in the build-up. The Spain international then sent an overhead kick inches wide, while Garcia denied Budimir again before the break.
Sergio Herrera tipped a Rashford free-kick to safety early in the second half as Barcelona searched for a breakthrough. They eventually found it when Pedri stepped forward and picked out Raphinha, who drove a shot into the bottom right corner from the edge of the area.
Osasuna briefly thought they had responded, but Jorge Herrando’s effort was disallowed after Alejandro Catena collided with Garcia. Soon after, Raphinha struck again, tapping in at the back post after Catena deflected Jules Kounde’s cross into his path with four minutes remaining.
Raphinha, deployed out of position in a central attacking midfield role, underlined his importance once more. A key figure in last season’s domestic treble, the Brazilian has made a strong impact since returning from injury, and on a subdued afternoon he provided the decisive touch Barcelona needed.
