A victory to start the come back as Barça look like Barça again
Lluís Mascaró says the best news was the manner of the win against Osasuna in Pamplona
Barcelona had to win at Pamplona. After three consecutive draws (Malaga, Real Sociedad and Real Madrid), the Blaugrana needed three points to kick on in La Liga. A draw against Osasuna would have been a loss with Madrid six points clear. In addition, it was important to continue the good sensations witnessed in the second half of the Clasico and then against Borussia Monchengladbach.
And the truth is that Barça were brilliant for the first half an hour. Exceptional. Triangles, combination play, control and creating clearcut chances. Everything perfect. Well, not quite. Because during this passage of play they were incapable of scoring despite chances for Luis Suarez (minutes 7 and 12) and Lionel Messi (minutes 14 and 25). Total football but no goals. Good, but not good enough when winning is all that matters.
PATIENCE AND PERSISTENCE
They had to have patience. Persist. And, above all, not commit errors. The second half had only just got underway when Sergio Leon was close to giving Barcelona fans a heart attack when he hit the crossbar, with Marc-Andre ter Stegen beaten. But it was just a scare. Fortunately. Because Barça, dominating how they dominate, had to score at some point. And the goal arrived. Thanks to a triangle between Messi, Jordi Alba and Suarez, with the latter scoring (minute 58).
From that point, the resistance offered by Osasuna ended. Messi scored the second goal and that was that. And the same player then scored the third with a fine individual effort, beating four home players. Barça recovered, therefore, the taste of victory in La Liga, although they now have to wait and see how Madirid do under pressure. The only important thing, though, is that Barça seem more like Barça all the time. That’s the best news.
