Osasuna earned a hard-fought 2-1 victory over La Liga giant Real Madrid in a thrilling league match on Saturday.
Vinicius Jr. concluded an emotional week by scoring his fifth goal in four matches, but he couldn’t stop Real Madrid from losing 2-1 to Osasuna, giving Barcelona the upper hand in the La Liga title chase.
Real aimed to stretch their lead to five points, but a first-half penalty from Ante Budimir and a late goal by Raul Garcia resulted in Alvaro Arbeloa facing his first league loss in six matches as manager.
Vinicius equalized for Real in the 73rd minute, just days after he claimed he faced racial abuse during the Champions League win against Benfica.
The Brazil attacker had a subdued first half in which his team was lucky not to allow more than one goal.
Thibaut Courtois made an incredible one-handed save to stop Budimir from a short distance before the Croatia striker struck the post with a header.
Referee Alejandro Quintero Gonzalez issued a yellow card to Budimir for simulation late in the first half; however, replays revealed that Courtois stepped on the striker’s foot as he bypassed him.
The referee gave a penalty after checking the pitchside monitor, and Budimir outsmarted Courtois.
The arrival of Trent Alexander-Arnold in the 64th minute appeared to shift the second half in Real’s direction.
The England defender quickly set up a chance for Vinicius with a long pass, but the forward’s attempt on goal was thwarted.
Vinicius—whose every touch was booed by the home crowd—redeemed himself shortly after by scoring from Federico Valverde’s low cross into the box, marking his first away league goal in nearly five months.
Kylian Mbappe struck the top corner from nearby but was ruled out by the offside flag.
Osasuna’s substitute Garcia faced a similar outcome in the 90th minute as he maneuvered around a challenge and expertly finished past Courtois from a tight angle, yet the video assistant referee (VAR) determined he was onside, and the goal was awarded.
Osasuna’s initial league win over Real since 2011 elevates the Pamplona team to ninth place in the standings.
Madrid holds a two-point lead over Barcelona after having played one additional match.
Hansi Flick’s team would move to the top with a home victory over Levante on Sunday (15:15 GMT).
