Raphinha seals Barca’s Liga lead as Atletico rebound
Atletico Madrid, in fourth, reignited their push with a 2-1 win over Valencia, courtesy of a superb strike from Antoine Griezmann, while Espanyol, in fifth, maintained their strong start with a 1-0 victory at Getafe.
Barcelona’s Brazilian star Raphinha broke the deadlock in the 70th minute with a blistering shot from the edge of the box, then added a late second to secure Barca’s seventh consecutive win in the league. Real Madrid sit in second and will travel to Alaves on Sunday, aiming to shave the gap to four points.
Barca didn’t sparkle throughout but ground out the result, keeping a clean sheet for the first time in six matches across all competitions. It was also Barca’s fifth win from five at their partially reopened Camp Nou home.
“Raphinha is incredibly important. He scored twice and is a key player. He defends and attacks—he’s vital for us,” said coach Xavi Flick. “We may not have had many chances, but we took two of them and earned the three points.”
Ferran Torres spurned an early opportunity, blasting high over after a dangerous cross from Lamine Yamal. Yamal himself fired a couple of runs that troubled Osasuna’s defense in a first half that mostly frustrated both the teenager and Barca. Torres had a goal ruled out for offside in the build-up when he headed in from a Marcus Rashford cross, while Yamal’s acrobatic attempt skimmed wide and Barca keeper Joan Garcia denied Ante Budimir before the break.
Barca struggled to break Osasuna down until Pedri advanced brilliantly and found Raphinha on the edge of the area, whose shot found the bottom-right corner. Osasuna’s Jorge Herrando, making his debut at the old Camp Nou in 2023, had a goal ruled out after a collision between Alejandro Catena and Barca goalkeeper Garcia. Moments later, Raphinha tapped in from close range after Catena diverted Jules Kounde’s cross into his path with four minutes left.
Starting the match in a central attacking role, Raphinha has been one of Barca’s standout players since returning from injury, helping them to domestic glory last season and continuing his impact this term. “We’ve got a lot of quality players, and Rapha—or anyone else who plays inside—gives us plenty of options in that position,” noted Barca defender Gerard Martin.
Atletico back in contention
Koke’s captain’s goal and Griezmann’s late strike gave Diego Simeone’s side a welcome win, though they still trail Barca by nine points. Atletico had begun the season slowly but climbed back into the title race before costly losses to Barca and Athletic Bilbao in early December. They followed a midweek Champions League win at PSV with a solid display at the Metropolitano against Valencia.
“It was tough to find our rhythm, and in the end the substitutes provided the spark and the speed we needed to win,” Griezmann said after coming on in the second half to seal the victory for Atletico.
Valencia threatened early on, with Hugo Duro hitting the crossbar, but were undone by a corner scramble. Koke converted from close range after Agirrezabala saved one effort, and the visitors levelled through Beltran’s long-range strike, which beat Oblak. Griezmann then struck with a glancing volley to complete the comeback, his fifth league goal of the season.
Espanyol kept pressure on behind Atletico as Leandro Cabrera’s header early in the second half helped them beat Getafe and strengthen their European hopes.
Third-placed Villarreal’s trip to Levante is unlikely to go ahead because of storms forecast in the region, with local authorities requesting La Liga to postpone the match.
© 2025 AFP
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