Barcelona Vs Osasuna 2-2: Blaugrana 18 Points Behind Real Madrid

Ousmane Dembele against Osasuna players (Twitter @fcbarcelona)

JAKARTA - Ezequiel Avila's late goal thwarted Barcelona's victory over Osasuna in the 17th La Liga match which took place at El Sadar Stadium, Sunday local time. The Blaugrana had to settle for a 2-2 draw and are now 18 points behind Barcelona.

Barcelona had taken the lead twice through goals from Nico Gonzalez and Abde Ezzalzouli, but the hosts twice equalized thanks to goals from David Garcia and Avila.

Launching Antara, this result makes Xavi's squad drop one place to eighth position, with 24 points, while Osasuna is stuck in tenth with 22 points.

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The hosts immediately had a chance with just two minutes into the game when Samuel Umtiti's missed clearance fell to Jon Moncayola, unfortunately the Osasuna midfielder's finishing shot was aimed straight at goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Successfully quelling an early threat, Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute when Gavi's clever pass was settled calmly by Nico Gonzalez to beat goalkeeper Sergio Herrera.

But the lead only lasted a lifetime because two minutes later Osasuna scored straight back when David Garcia escaped Barca's control to head in from Moncayola's free-kick.

Barca had the opportunity to restore their advantage in the 24th minute, unfortunately Abde's shot after receiving Frenkie de Jong's cross was still soaring high above the target.

Abde seemed to be one of Barcelona's main attacking motors through his movement on the right side of the Osasuna defence, but he was not able to create meaningful chances because a number of his crosses often did not reach the penalty box and the 1-1 score lasted until halftime.

Three minutes after the break Barca finally restored their lead when Abde marked a scintillating display by tucking in a wild ball from Ousmane Dembele's cross to rip through the hosts' goal.

The Osasuna players protested this goal because they believed the ball first hit Sergio Busquets' hands in the Barcelona penalty box. However, instead of granting the request to annul Barca's goal, the referee even gave a yellow card to Juan Cruz for protesting.

Osasuna continued to struggle to press Barcelona's defense in search of an equaliser, but their 70th-minute effort ended in a foul for the visitors as Ante Budimir's hand was charged with hitting Ter Stegen in the face while trying to head home a Manu Sanchez cross.

The hosts' hard work finally paid off three minutes from time when Barca's players failed to fully anticipate a corner and the ball was struck by Avila's powerful shot which hit Busquets in the leg and rounded Ter Stegen before sinking into the visitors' goal.

Barca are now further away from the top of the table after in the late game their biggest rivals Real Madrid won the Madrid Derby against Atletico 2-0