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Oluwatomiwa Babalola
– Barcelona bounced back to winning ways against Osasuna
– The Catalans suffered a 1-0 defeat to title contenders Atletico Madrid last weekend
– A goal each from Braithwaite, Griezmann, Coutinho and Messi did the magic for Koeman’s men
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Barcelona produced another four-star performance following their 4-0 emphatic win over Osasuna At the Nou Camp.
This victory came five days after thrashing Dynamo Kyiv by the same scoreline to progress to the next round of this season’s UEFA Champions League championship.
They also reduced the gap between them and the current La Liga table toppers to nine points with one match in hand.
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Martin Braithwaite opened the scoring for the hosts just a minute before the half-hour mark through a goal-mouth scramble.
Barcelona vs Osasuna: Lionel Messi aiming a shot at goal during his side convincing win at camp Nou.
Photo by David S. Bustamante/Soccrates.
Source: Getty Images
Philippe Coutinho had earlier made an attempt at goal through a cross from the left flank but the visitors’ goalkeeper parried the ball into the hands of the 29-year-old who sent it into the net.
The goal handed the home team the breakthrough as they kept pressuring for more goals in the first half.
And just three minutes before the end of the opening half Antoine Griezmann doubled Barca’s lead through an unstoppable volley which went straight into the net.
The Catalans made another attacking move from the left flank with one of the away team’s defenders nodding out their cross and the Frenchman took advantage of his positioning to fire the ball into the net. They ran off 2-0 winners in the opening half.
Ronald Koeman’s men continued from where they stopped with an impressive attacking display in the second half.
Coutinho and Griezmann combined well to hand Barcelona their third goal in the 67th minute and three minutes later, Ousmane Dembele’s strike was ruled out by the match official.
However, in the 73rd-minute captain, fantastic Lionel Messi scored a brilliant solo goal after dribbling past a couple of Osasuna defenders.
The Argentine seems to have woken up from his slumber as he scored one of his trademark goals from the edge of the 18-yard box.
Legit.ng earlier reported that Spanish defender Gerard Pique is hoping Lionel Messi will remain at Barcelona beyond the summer of 2021.
The 33-year-old’s current deal with the Catalans expires at the end of the ongoing season with no clear plans on signing a new deal with them.
He made attempts to force a move out of the Nou Camp in August but later made a U-turn to see out his deal with the club.
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