BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Raphinha scored a brace as Barcelona beat Osasuna 2-0 to increase its La Liga lead on Saturday and pile more pressure on beleaguered Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso.
The Brazil forward broke the deadlock with a shot from the top of the area in the 70th minute at Camp Nou. He then put the result beyond doubt by scoring from close range with six minutes remaining.
A seventh league win in a row left the defending champions seven points clear of Real Madrid before its game at Alaves on Sunday. That is likely a must-win game for Alonso after the powerhouse has won just two of its last eight games across all competitions.
Madrid had led Barcelona by five points in the Spanish league after winning a clasico match in late October. But a huge dip in form with just one win in five rounds, including a humiliating 2-0 defeat to Celta Vigo at home last weekend, has left Madrid reeling.
Relishing the trouble of Barcelona’s top rival, the Camp Nou crowd chanted “Stay Xabi! Stay Xabi!” in Spanish at one point during the Osasuna match.
Raphinha, however, stayed focused on his team.
“We need to focus on ourselves and if we do our job then we won’t have to worry about anyone else,” Raphinha said. “We are playing better than before and the more points, the better.”
Raphinha was key to Barcelona winning La Liga and Copa del Rey last season, when Hansi Flick’s side also reached the Champions League semifinals.
Barcelona struggled to replaced his speed and incisiveness when Raphinha was sidelined with a leg injury for six weeks earlier this campaign. But he has returned as strong as ever. He also assisted in a 3-1 victory over Alaves in late November and scored in a 3-1 win over Atletico Madrid earlier this month.
Sixteenth-placed Osasuna generated little in attack but its defense and goalkeeper Sergio Herrera frustrated Barcelona until Raphinha struck. Herrera saved a shot by Lamine Yamal while Marcus Rashford’s goal-bound effort was blocked by a defender.
Raphinha’s first goal came after Barcelona recovered the ball and Pedri González led a counterattack before laying off for him to score from distance. His second was easier: a tap-in after Osasuna defender Alejandro Catena redirected a cross from Jules Koundé to the far post where Raphinha was unmarked.
Griezmann nets again for Atletico
Antoine Griezmann scored the winner after coming off the bench to help fourth-placed Atletico beat Valencia 2-1 and stay nine points behind Barcelona.
Griezmann replaced Julián Álvarez with half an hour to go with Atletico leading after Koke Resurrección scored from a rebound in the 17th.
Lucas Beltrán pulled the visitors level in the 63rd with a shot from outside the area as the Argentine striker skirted past a defender and lashed a long strike just inside the post.
Griezmann restored the lead in the 74th at the Metropolitano Stadium when he used an exquisite control, hooking down a long ball with the tip of his boot, before he fired in the winner.
The 34-year-old Griezmann has taken a more limited role with Atletico this season, but he is still proving to be decisive. The former France star scored two goals as a substitute in a 3-1 win over Levante last month and also netted after coming on in the second half against Sevilla and Real Madrid.
His winner against Valencia increased his record haul for Atletico to 204 career goals.
The loss for Valencia will increase the pressure on coach Carlos Corberán with the team in 17th place just on the edge of the relegation zone.
Espanyol keeps surprising
Leandro Cabrera’s header helped Espanyol beat Getafe 1-0 on the road and secure a fourth consecutive league win.
Espanyol is the surprise of the season approaching the winter break. The Barcelona-based team is in fifth place after 16 rounds, having barely avoided relegation on the final day of last season.
Also, Mallorca beat Elche 3-1. The game was tied 1-1 until Elche keeper Iñaki Peña gifted the ball to Mallorca’s Omar Mascarell, who lobbed the ball over Peña’s head from near midfield for the go-ahead goal in the 82nd.
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