Osasuna Vs Real Madrid: Raúl García’s Added-Time Winner Stuns La Liga Leaders
Osasuna delivered a dramatic 2-1 victory over La Liga leaders Real Madrid at Estadio El Sadar, with Raúl García scoring in added time to settle the contest. The result matters now because it hands Barcelona the opportunity to return to the summit and leaves Real Madrid facing questions ahead of a midweek Champions League second leg.
Osasuna Vs Real Madrid: The decisive moments
Ante Budimir put Osasuna ahead after a VAR review awarded a penalty when the video assistant showed Thibaut Courtois had stood on Budimir’s foot; the referee overturned an initial booking for simulation and Budimir calmly converted from the spot. Real pulled level in the 73rd minute when Federico Valverde surged down the left and cut back for Vinícius Júnior to slide home from close range. In added time, Raúl García finished from close range to seal the win after a sequence in which substitute Dani Ceballos lost possession and Raúl Moro released García, who beat Raúl Asencio before firing into the top corner.
Raúl García, the finish and the offside confusion
Raúl García’s late strike was the match-winner, with match accounts placing the goal in added time—one noting it arrived in the 90th minute and another in the 92nd—unclear in the provided context. The home crowd at Estadio El Sadar erupted after the strike. Raul García has been a decisive impact substitute: one detail in the coverage notes he has scored three goals after coming off the bench in La Liga this season, while another assessment adds that he has now scored five in his last four. The striker is described as a veteran born in Barcelona.
Thibaut Courtois, Ante Budimir penalty and defensive lapses
Thibaut Courtois made a couple of saves but was judged to have given away a "rather silly" penalty after misjudging a loose ball that Budimir capitalised on. Osasuna had threatened earlier—Courtois tipped away a close-range header from a worked set-piece and Budimir later headed against the post. Defending errors were repeatedly cited: one assessment described a Madrid defender as chaotic at the back and misjudging the long ball that led to the first goal, while Raúl Asencio was singled out for a poor defensive showing when he was beaten for the second. Trent Alexander-Arnold was booked after a foul on Víctor Muñoz on the edge of the box, later curled a free-kick well off target and was described as having received a silly yellow and perhaps could have done more for Osasuna’s second.
Álvaro Arbeloa and the Champions League context
Álvaro Arbeloa’s side were below par in Pamplona, and Arbeloa acknowledged shortcomings: "We lacked punch, teeth and speed up front. We have a big margin to improve and a long road ahead of us, starting on Wednesday in the Champions League against Benfica. " The second leg of that playoff against José Mourinho’s Benfica was flagged as weighing on the squad, after Vinícius Júnior had earlier scored a sensational goal in the Champions League first leg but was reportedly the victim of alleged racial abuse.
Title race and league form: Osasuna’s unbeaten run and Barcelona’s chance
Osasuna have now gone six La Liga matches without defeat (W4 D2), their first run of six or more without loss since August 2024, when they went P6 W2 D4. The defeat means Barcelona, who trail Madrid by two points, can overtake the leaders if they beat Levante on Sunday at Camp Nou; one timetable placed that fixture at 15: 15 GMT. The result intensifies a title race described as bringing plenty of drama.
European fixtures and wider domestic results
The weekend’s wider European picture was busy. Atlético Madrid returned to winning ways as Alexander Sørloth struck twice in a 4-2 win over Espanyol; Atlético sit fourth and trail Real Madrid by 12 points, a gap described as leaving their title hopes virtually over, though the victory opened a six-point lead over Real Betis for fourth place after Betis drew 1-1 with Rayo Vallecano. In the Bundesliga, Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich beat Eintracht Frankfurt 3-2, his second goal making it his 28th league goal of the season; Bayern moved to their 19th win in 23 league games and briefly extended their lead at the top, while Frankfurt’s goals included a 75th-minute penalty from Jonathan Burkardt and an 86th-minute strike from Arnaud Kalimuendo. Borussia Dortmund rescued a 2-2 draw at RB Leipzig with a stoppage-time goal, and in Serie A Inter moved 10 points clear at the summit with a 2-0 win at Lecce thanks to a second-half Henrikh Mkhitaryan goal.
What makes this notable is how a combination of VAR intervention, defensive miscues and a late turnover directly produced a result that reshuffles the title equation and increases the pressure on Real Madrid ahead of their Champions League return.
