La Liga: Barcelona pile pressure on Atletico with win

Goals from Jordi Alba and Illax Moriba gave Barca a hard-fought win against a rival that caused them lots of problems, especially in the first half

Madrid: FC Barcelona moved to within two points of Atletico Madrid to increase the pressure at the top of La Liga less than 24 hours before derby between Atletico and Real Madrid, thanks to a 2-0 win away to Osasuna.

Goals from Jordi Alba and Illax Moriba gave Barca a hard-fought win against a rival that caused them lots of problems, especially in the first half in the El Sadar Stadium on Saturday. Osasuna started the brighter of the two sides and Jonathan Calleri almost opened the scoring from the halfway line in just the second minute with Marc-Andre Ter Stegen chasing back.

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The Barca keeper then saved well from Kike Barja as the home side continued to defend well and move the ball confidently. Despite Osasuna’s control of the game, Barca took the lead in the 30th minute when Messi picked out Jordi Alba, who finished with a powerful shot into the top of the net.

Ter Stegen produced another magnificent save three minutes later after Ruben Garcia produced a fine piece of control in the Barca area. Barca switched to a flat back four in the second half with Ousmane Dembele replacing Samuel Umtiti which helped them control the ball better in midfield.