FC Barcelona come away with a strongly contested 1-0 victory over CA Osasuna in their game in La Liga Santander. A game where it seemed like a draw would be the likely outcome given Osasuna’s resilient and well-structured tactical display.
However, a late winner now sees Barcelona temporarily increase their lead at the top of the table in La Liga to 14 points for now, as Real Madrid are yet to play their game in hand against Real Sociedad at the time of writing. Here is how the FC Barcelona players fared.
Player Ratings:
Marc Andre Ter Stegen: 6.5
Did not have much to do as Osasuna remained tamed for most of the game and proceedings were mainly dominated by Barcelona. With one more clean sheet, the German’s total tally reaches 25, just one behind the record of 26 that would create league history.
Alejandro Balde: 7.0
Made some promising runs and even created a handful of decent chances that his teammates should have made more of. Still a player in development, however, as can be seen when evaluating the inconsistencies in his decision-making.
Ronald Araujo: 7.5
Almost everywhere along the defensive zones, the Uruguayan collided and fell constantly upon impacts from opposition players, but continued to thwart and nullify any and all attacks they could throw his way.
Andreas Christensen: 7.0
The Danish defender was immense and his presence was clearly felt. Composed on the ball and was dominant when defending, solid performance overall. Substituted early in the second half.
Jules Kounde: 7.0
The Frenchman was constantly darting forward from the right-hand side and was consistently linking up with his teammates to create some dangerous opportunities for the team.
Sergio Busquets: 7.5
The Barcelona captain had a composed game, with his typical upper hand on display when in possession. His acute passing and quick distribution of possession was on point as usual.
Frenkie De Jong: 9.0
Undeniably the most potent creator for Barcelona on the night. While some of his passes were simply mesmeric, the Dutchman was also consistently making dangerous runs and thwarting Osasuna as an offensive threat as well. Assisted the winning goal as well.
Pedri: 6.5
Uncharacteristic performance from the typically vigilante youngster. His awareness and usual quality seemed a bit diluted, possibly a consequence of returning after a while from injury.
Gavi: 6.0
Substituted early on in the first half due to muscular discomfort, the youngster was quite energetic during his time on the field.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.5
Mostly remained uninvolved during the game, but that was more so due to a lack of service towards him rather than any fault of his own.
Raphinha: 6.5
The Brazilian created some decent chances for Barcelona but was mostly ineffective during his time on the field. Was replaced by Dembele early in the second half.
Substitutes:
Ansu Fati: 6.5
A genuine threat for most of his time on the field after replacing Gavi early on, Fati was nonetheless still ineffective in front of goal and arguably wasted a couple of promising opportunities.
Ousmane Dembele: 6.5
The Frenchman was quite involved since coming on but was not able to create too much wreckage other than his involvement in various chance creations. Solid display nonetheless.
Eric Garcia: 6.0
The young Spaniard was decent since coming on and avoided making any substantial errors, but did not exactly make a huge difference either. Good display by the ex-Manchester City man.
Jordi Alba: 7.5
Instantly following his substitution, Alba began to create much more potent chances than Balde was able to do during his time on the field. Ended up scoring the winner as well late in the game to give Barcelona all three points.
Ferran Torres: N/A
Not enough time or influence to warrant a rating
