Real put pressure on Barca

Aurelien Tchouameni was on the registration list, but withdrew at the last minute because of the flu. Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos are also absent. According to Managing Madrid, Benzema is resting and Kroos is not in the best shape after stomach pain caused him to miss the 4-0 win over Elche on February 15. But all three will return from the match against Liverpool in the first leg of the 1/8 round of the Champions League on February 21.

Without many pillars, Real faced many difficulties on El Sadar field yesterday. The defending champions have only completed three shots in the first 45 minutes - their worst first half in a La Liga game this season.

But in the second half, the away team prospered and continuously threatened Osasuna's goal. In the 47th minute, Rodrygo performed alone in the penalty area and then cut the right leg to the far corner of the column. Five minutes later, David Alaba poked a slot for Vinicius to hit the home team, but the goal was disallowed for offside.

In the 74th minute, the Brazilian striker squandered the opportunity. Center-back Unai Garcia broke the ball, creating conditions for Vinicius to enter the penalty area in an unaccompanied position. He continued to dribble and then failed to beat goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

Four minutes later, Vinicius made his mark with a horizontal stretch for Federico Valverde to jump up from the second line, cushion the diagonal near the wall to clear the deadlock. Valverde has scored 12 goals in all competitions this season, the second best of any Real midfielder over the past decade. The leader in this parameter is James Rodriguez with 17 goals in the 2014-2015 season.

In the 89th minute, Luka Modric poked a slot for Marco Asensio to cross and then cross to Vinicius to hit the home net. But VAR stepped in, determined Asensio was offside and denied the goal.

But Real also scored the second goal. In the second minute of offset, 18-year-old Alvaro Rodriguez duly robbed in the middle of the field and then dropped the ball for Asensio to shoot a diagonal touch, making the score 2-0.

This result helps Real temporarily shorten the gap with Barca - the club receives Cadiz at Camp Nou today - down to five points. In the next round, Real will play a Madrid derby with Atletico at the Bernabeu on February 25.