Osasuna end Barcelona’s unbeaten run in six-goal thriller

Osasuna had an incredible evening to remember as they defeated Barcelona 4-2 in La Liga, with Bryan Zaragoza’s first-half goal and assist combo helping the Rojillos emphatically end a run of five winless head-to-heads against the Blaugrana.

Los Rojillos showed plenty of early intent, especially with balls behind Barcelona’s youthful backline, although the visitors initially stood firm with Eric García flying out to block a Zaragoza strike.

Ante Budimir then made a burst up the pitch on the quarter-hour mark before smashing an attempt that fizzed agonisingly wide of the far post.

The Croatian opened the scoring soon after, as Bryan worked some space from Jules Koundé and delivered an inviting cross that Budimir reached ahead of Pau Cubarsí and clinically headed home.

Osasuna were relentless and caused another scare, as Iñaki Peña rushed out of his box and could only clear to Rubén García, whose attempt hit Budimir. Peña was left helpless on the floor moments later, as Bryan latched onto Pablo Ibáñez’s perfectly-weighted through ball and audaciously rolled it around the goalkeeper before scoring.

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Barcelona regained some semblance of control, but were unable to find Robert Lewandowski with their balls into the box, and Koundé came closest seconds before the break with a header that hit the crossbar.

Barça finally got Lewandowski more into the game after the restart, but the striker hit a free-kick agonisingly wide and he was then denied by Sergio Herrera. The goalkeeper gifted the visitors a way back into proceedings moments later, though, throwing the ball straight to Gerard Martín before failing to stop Pau Víctor’s shot as he stumbled back.

Lamine Yamal and Raphinha were introduced with Osasuna pinned back just before the hour mark, although the hosts fought back and Budimir came close, before Ferran Torres ghosted through but was denied by Herrera.

Budimir then regained his side’s buffer, winning a penalty from Sergi Domínguez that he sent out of Peña’s reach. An outstanding evening was then capped off with an equally impressive strike from Abel Bretones in the 85th minute.

Even though Yamal responded with an exquisite goal of his own, Osasuna earned a fourth consecutive victory at El Sadar in a single La Liga campaign for the first time since March 2008. That achievement is made even more special as they defeated a Barcelona side who previously had a perfect record in the league this term.

Osasuna end Barcelona’s unbeaten run in six-goal thriller

Injury denies Osimhen hat-trick as Galatasaray held in 6-goal thriller

Victor Osimhen delivered an impressive performance, netting twice in Galatasaray’s thrilling 3-3 draw against Kasimpasa in their Turkish Super Lig clash at RAMS Park, Istanbul, on Saturday.

In what was only his third league appearance for the club, the 25-year-old Nigerian striker, on loan, added two goals to his tally of four assists since joining the league leaders. His brace electrified the home crowd.

Osimhen opened his scoring account in the 20th minute when he miscontrolled a cross, but the ball still managed to outwit the goalkeeper, rolling over the line to the delight of the fans.

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His second goal, coming just eight minutes later, showcased his striking prowess. Receiving a deep cross, the former Lille star controlled the ball under pressure from a defender before unleashing a powerful volley into the top corner, extending Galatasaray’s lead to 2-0.

Mauro Icardi added a third in the 34th minute, but Kasimpasa pulled one back before halftime.

Unfortunately, Osimhen was unable to complete a potential hat-trick as an injury forced him off at halftime.

Kasimpasa capitalized on his absence, staging a late comeback to earn a point in the dying moments of the game.

Despite the draw, Galatasaray remains unbeaten and still tops the Super Lig table with 19 points from seven matches, maintaining a four-point lead over second-placed Samsunspor.

Injury denies Osimhen hat-trick as Galatasaray held in 6-goal thriller

FIFA bans Argentina goalkeeper Martinez

The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has banned Argentina’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.

The world football governing body handed a two-match ban to the Aston Villa star.

The Argentine Football Association (AFA), confirmed the development on Saturday, saying Martinez is banned for “offensive behaviour”.

The 32-year-old former Arsenal player was also found guilty of “violating principles of fairplay” in two separate episodes.

Martinez was found to have violated FIFA’s code of conduct when holding a replica of the Copa America trophy to his groin after the World Cup qualifier win over Chile on September 5.

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It is not the first time Martinez has performed such an action having also done it with the Golden Glove trophy for best goalkeeper after Argentina beat France on penalties in the 2022 World Cup final.

FIFA also sanctioned him for hitting a TV cameraman’s camera with his gloves after their 2-1 defeat by Colombia on September 10.

The AFA expressed their dissatisfaction with the FIFA ruling.

“It should be noted that the Argentine Football Association expresses its absolute disagreement with the decision taken by the FIFA disciplinary committee,” they said in a statement.

As a result of the decision Martinez — also a key member of the Argentina side that won the Copa America in July, as well as the 2021 edition — will miss the World Cup qualifiers against Venezuela on October 10 and Bolivia on October 15.

Argentina are top of the South American qualifying table with 18 points after eight matches. Colombia are just two points behind

FIFA bans Argentina goalkeeper Martinez