Osasuna 2-1 Real Madrid: Late drama sees Los Blancos drop crucial points | OneFootball

Ante Budimir and Raúl García condemned Real Madrid to their first loss against Osasuna since January 2011, as los Blancos lose ground to Barcelona in the LaLiga title fight.

Álvaro Arbeloa’s men never really found their feet in the first half of match action in the Basque Country and were punished for their slow start when Ante Budimir rolled a composed penalty past Thibaut Courtois before the break.

Los Blancos found an equaliser thanks to Vini Jr, who turned home from six yards after a difficult week for the Brazilian, but it proved not to be enough for the Madrileños who suffered a late blow when Raúl García buried home the winner.

Barcelona could reclaim pole position in the LaLiga title fight when they host Levante on Sunday.

As it happened

Real Madrid have been in flying form of late and had the opportunity to move five points clear at the top of the LaLiga table with victory at the Estadio El Sadar on Saturday – but Álvaro Arbeloa’s men did not seize it.

In truth, they didn’t threaten their hosts much at all, with their first chance of the game coming after 15 minutes when a tame Vini Jr shot called Sergio Herrera into action.

It was Ante Budimir who would prove to be the star of the first half, curling an effort just wide of the far post before clever buildup play saw the Croatian tee up Aimar Oroz, who couldn’t quite get his shot off.

But Osasuna kept applying pressure and came within inches of the opener when Ruben García’s whipped ball in from the edge of the box was turned towards goal inadvertently by Alvaro Carreras, who forced a remarkable save from Thibaut Courtois to keep parity intact.

Budimir threatened Courtois twice in the space of as many minutes as the half-hour mark approached, rising above David Alaba to meet a Victor Muñoz cross before rattling the base of the post as he latched onto Javi Galán’s delivery.

Real Madrid grew into the match at that point, with Vini Jr’s cross from the byline eventually finding Alaba on the edge of the box, although the Austrian thundered his strike over the crossbar before Kylian Mbappé put Sergio Herrera to work at the near post.

Another chance for Alaba saw the defender’s effort blocked by Alejandro Catena after neat linkup play saw Dani Carvajal play a well-worked ball for his defensive colleague from the edge of the box.

But Real Madrid’s flurry of chances came to nothing as Arbeloa’s men fell behind in the 38th minute.

Through on goal, Budimir was stepped on by Courtois inside the box. After a VAR check, the referee opted to award a penalty, which was duly despatched by the Croatian.

Los Blancos endured another slow start to the second period before once again growing in confidence, with Mbappé rippling the back of the net in the 70th minute, only to be flagged offside as he wheeled away in celebration.

The visitors weren’t made to wait long for their equaliser, though, with Federico Valverde thundering through a tight channel on the left before driving a ball across the face of goal for Vini Jr to slot home.

Real Madrid pushed for a late winner but instead found themselves heading back to the Spanish capital empty-handed, as Raúl García netted a dramatic late winner inside the dying seconds, condemning the visitors to their first loss against Osasuna in more than 15 years.

ANALYSIS: Osasuna deliver another twist in a scintillating title race

“We all know how difficult a trip to El Sadar is for Real Madrid,” Álvaro Arbeloa conceded in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

The 43-year-old was right; it proved to be a rather challenging affair that sees control of the title race move back into Barcelona’s hands, just five days after they conceded it with that controversial 2-1 loss to Girona.

In truth, though, los Blancos never really looked like a side ready to extend their lead over the blaugrana to five points.

They never fully settled at El Sadar, with Ante Budimir granted space aplenty throughout a first half in which Osasuna dominated, registering 1.62 xG in comparison to the visitors’ 0.64, although admittedly that was bolstered in part by the Croatian’s penalty effort.

Even after the break, Arbeloa’s men seemed in no urgency to drag themselves level. It took just shy of 30 minutes for Vini Jr to restore parity, and while there was a half-hearted push for a decisive second goal, it was a moment of magic from Raúl García that shaped not only the outcome of the match, but perhaps the trajectory of the title race as a whole.

It is in these sorts of moments that Real Madrid would wish they could quickly turn their attention to their next LaLiga clash, a Monday night meeting with Getafe in front of a home crowd. But that is not the case, as the second leg of their UEFA Champions League play-off against Benfica in midweek threatens to further complicate their response to a major setback.