Lewandowski’s Penalty Earns Barca A Win vs. Osasuna
Once again, Robert Lewandowski came to rescue Barcelona’s performance by earning and successfully converting an 86th-minute penalty, securing a hard-fought 2-1 victory against Osasuna on Sunday.
The striker, Robert Lewandowski, drew the crucial penalty for Barcelona when he was fouled inside the box by Alejandro Catena, who was subsequently shown a red card. Barcelona initially seized the lead in the first half with a header from Jules Kounde. However, Chimy Avila leveled the score for the hosts with a well-placed shot less than 15 minutes before the match’s conclusion. In the second half, Barcelona’s manager, Xavi, made pivotal substitutions, introducing new loan signings Joao Cancelo and Joao Felix. Currently sitting in third place, Barcelona trails league leaders Real Madrid by a mere two points after completing four games this season.
Lewandowski secured the winning penalty for Barcelona, finding the net just 10 minutes after substitute Chimy Ávila had equalized for Osasuna. Jules Koundé netted the opening goal of the match with a header during injury time in the first half.
Barcelona’s victory allowed them to maintain their position, trailing the Spanish league leader, Real Madrid, by only two points after four rounds of fixtures. It’s noteworthy that Robert Lewandowski also scored the winning goal for Barcelona in a thrilling 4-3 match against Villarreal the previous weekend.
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Coach Xavi Hernández praised Robert Lewandowski, describing him as a “natural-born scorer.” Lewandowski played a pivotal role in helping Barcelona reclaim the league title last year after his move from Bayern Munich. Xavi said, “Maybe he didn’t have as many touches today, but even if he hadn’t scored, it would have been a great game by him. His goals have given us back-to-back wins.”
The match in Pamplona marked the debuts of João Cancelo and João Félix as second-half substitutes for Barcelona. These Portuguese players joined Barcelona on loan deals just before the end of the summer transfer window on Friday night.
Osasuna was reduced to 10 men in the final minutes of the game when Alejandro Catena received a red card for his foul on Lewandowski, who was about to face only goalkeeper Aitor Fernández. Lewandowski successfully converted the resulting penalty, marking his second goal of the season.
Jules Koundé scored in first-half injury time by eluding his marker and heading a corner kick delivered by Ilkay Gundogan. The ball found the inside of the far post, beyond the reach of goalkeeper Fernández. João Cancelo made his debut appearance as a substitute, just two days after joining Barcelona on loan from Manchester City. He came on for Sergi Roberto with a little over half an hour remaining in the match.
Following Chimy Ávila’s goal, João Félix, who recently joined from Atletico Madrid, made an appearance with just over 10 minutes left in the game.
Robert Lewandowski and Frenkie de Jong combined to secure the victory. De Jong, who had earlier struck a shot off the post, made a precise pass to Lewandowski, who expertly controlled the ball with one touch just before being fouled when Alejandro Catena yanked his arm. This led to the decisive penalty that Lewandowski converted.
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