Barcelona’s Jordi Alba scores late winner against 10-man Osasuna Barcelona’s Jordi Alba scored a late winner against 10-man Osasuna to move within touching distance of the La Liga title.
After thrashing Real Betis last time out, Barça were keen to keep the momentum rolling against this season’s La Liga surprise package Osasuna.
They struggled to breakdown the visitors’ solid backline in the opening exchanges, but their luck swung before the half-hour mark. After Pedri broke in behind the Osasuna defence, Jorge Herrando Oroz pulled the midfielder down to deny his route towards goal, forcing the referee to give Herrando his marching orders.
The numerical advantage was not enough for Barça to break through however, as they headed into the break without a shot on goal in a half for the first time under Xavi. After knocking on the door for much of the second half, Robert Lewandowski appeared to fire Barça into the lead after a scramble in the box, but his goal was disallowed due to offside.
Finally, Jordi Alba came off of the bench to sneak the ball in behind Aitor Fernández from a severe angle to snatch the victory and wrap one hand around the La Liga title.
