Osasuna stuns Barcelona 4-2 and stops it from tying club record for best season start

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Bryan Zaragoza scored one goal and set up another to spark Osasuna’s stunning 4-2 win over Barcelona on Saturday, dealing the Spanish league leader its first loss.

The lightning-fast forward on loan from Bayern Munich crossed for Ante Budimir to open the scoring in the 17th minute. Zaragoza then showed some fancy high-speed dribbling to round goalkeeper Iñaki Peña on the break for 2-0 in the 28th.

Barcelona was playing with three youth players and one, Pau Víctor, pulled one back for the visitors in the 53rd, but Budimir earned and converted a penalty to put the result beyond doubt in the 72nd. Osasuna’s Abel Bretones made it 4-1 in the 85th and substitute Lamine Yamal scored Barcelona’s second goal.

Barcelona recorded wins in the first seven rounds. An eighth victory would have equaled a club record established in 2013. Barcelona lost its opener in the Champions League 2-1 at Monaco last week.

“It hurts. We wanted to make it eight of eight, but we didn’t play our best game,” said Barcelona forward Ferran Torres, who hit the post late.

Barcelona remained atop the league at four points ahead of Real Madrid before the defending champion visits Atletico Madrid in a derby on Sunday. Osasuna moved into sixth place and stayed unbeaten in Pamplona in this campaign with four wins and a draw.

Back in Spain

Zaragoza stunned Barcelona when he cut back from the left corner to open space before whipping in an in-swinging cross past marker Jules Koundé. Budimir did the rest by shouldering Pau Cubarsí out of the way and thumping his header off the turf and beyond the reach of Peña.

It was soon 2-0 when Osasuna recovered the ball midfield and Pablo Ibánez immediately launched Zaragoza on a quick attack with a long pass that played him clear behind the defensive line.

Zaragoza showed why Bayern signed him by feinting a shot before performing a rollover while at full speed to glide past Peña and poke the ball home.

“We had to go out there to bite,” Zaragoza said.

He enjoyed a breakout 2022-23 season at Granada where he scored 11 goals before he was signed by Bayern on a contract through 2029. But after only seven appearances for the German powerhouse, it sent him to Osasuna to gain playing time. His goal against Barcelona was his first since his return to La Liga.

Rotations for Barcelona

Facing a third league game in a week, Hansi Flick rotated his lineup by leaving Yamal, Raphinha, Íñigo Martínez and Alejandro Balde on the bench. In their place, Flick once again dipped into Barcelona’s youth squad and gave starts to 19-year-old Sergi Dominguez and 22-year-olds Víctor and Gerard Martín.

But a backline with Martín and Domínguez and the 17-year-old Cubarsí, and anchored by Peña making his second start in place of the injured Marc-Andre ter Stegen, was not up to the pressure of El Sadar.

“It is normal that we have rotations, we play lots of games,” Barcelona’s Pedri González said. “It It can’t be an excuse. The 11 of us had to go out there ready to play, but the halftime score was too much.”

Next for Barcelona is Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday.

Other results

Colombia midfielder James Rodríguez made his first start since he joined Rayo Vallecano, in a 1-1 draw with Leganes.

Real Sociedad beat Valencia 3-0. Getafe beat Alaves 2-0 at home.

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