Osasuna Stun Barcelona As Ante Budimir Scores Twice In First La Liga Defeat For Barca.
Barcelona’s unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to a shocking end as Osasuna handed them a 4-2 defeat, with Croatian striker Ante Budimir scoring twice to lead the charge at El Sadar.
Budimir opened the scoring after just 18 minutes, slipping behind the Barca defence to head in Bryan Zaragoza’s pinpoint cross. Zaragoza himself doubled the home side’s lead, breaking through on goal and calmly slotting the ball past Barcelona’s second-choice goalkeeper, Iñaki Peña.
Barcelona responded after the break, as Pau Victor’s effort found the back of the net following a mistake by Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera, who fumbled the ball into his own goal. However, any hopes of a comeback were dashed when Budimir earned and converted a penalty, after being fouled by Sergi Dominguez in the box, restoring Osasuna’s two-goal advantage.
The home side extended their lead to 4-1 when Abel Bretones fired a stunning strike from the edge of the area into the bottom right corner, leaving Barça with little time to respond. Lamine Yamal pulled one back for the Catalan side with a superb finish into the top corner, but it was too late to change the outcome.
The defeat marked Barcelona’s first of the season, ending their run of seven consecutive victories in La Liga. It also denied them the chance to equal their best-ever start to a campaign. With Real Madrid set to face Atletico Madrid on Sunday, Los Blancos could close the gap to just one point at the top of the table.
Barcelona now turn their attention to the Champions League, where they will host Swiss side Young Boys on Tuesday, looking to bounce back after their opening defeat to Monaco.
The result leaves Barcelona searching for answers as they seek to regain their momentum in both domestic and European competition.
