Real Madrid moved five points behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 2-0 win over Osasuna on Saturday evening.
LaLiga
Result: Osasuna 0-2 Real Madrid
Date: 18 February 2023
Venue: Estadio El Sadar
Madrid made four changes to the side that thrashed Elche, as goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Junior were all recalled while Karim Benzema was side-lined with injury.
In a cagey start from the sides, Vinicius Junior had a good chance on 12 minutes after a bad back pass saw him go clear on goal but his low shot from point-blank range could not beat shot-stopper Sergio Herrera in a one-on-one.
Osasuna sat deep after that as they made it difficult for Los Blancos to find spaces in the last third and the game became a one-way traffic, except that the visitors were not threatening Herrera.
However, Jagoba Arrasate's troops gained confidence as the match progressed without goals and fancied their chances on counter-attacks towards the interval as Ante Budimir found himself with a clear sight of goal from a rebound in the box but he could not find the target.
Rodrygo gave Madrid a quick start after he raced through on goal within two minutes from the break to face Herrera but could not find the target with his shot.
As the game opened up, Moi Gomez almost broke the deadlock for Osasuna just after the hour-mark after he dribbled his way to have a crack at goal on the edge of the box but his effort came off the post.
Carlo Ancelotti needed more attacking players in the last third with a tactical change a couple of minutes later as Marco Asensio replaced Dani Ceballos.
Madrid increased the intensity of their attacks after that and Federico Valverde eventually broke the deadlock in the last 11 minutes with a first-time side-footed finish in the box after a cut-back by Vinicius Junior.
Osasuna committed numbers going forward and were fortunate for not being 2-0 down in stoppage time after Vinicius Junior scored from a counter-attack but the goal was disallowed by the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) for offside.
However, Asensio eventually settled the tie for Madrid from another transition as they closed the gap behind leaders Barcelona to five points, although they played an extra game.
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