Real Madrid suffered a damaging 2-1 defeat at Osasuna on Saturday, dealing a setback to their La Liga title ambitions.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side delivered a below-par display in Pamplona and fell behind to an Ante Budimir penalty before Vinicius Junior restored parity for the visitors. However, Osasuna struck again late on through Ruben Garcia to seal a memorable victory at El Sadar.
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The looming second leg of Madrid’s Champions League play-off against Jose Mourinho’s Benfica appeared to weigh on the visitors, who struggled to find rhythm and intensity.
“It was not a good game for us. We have to play a lot better,” Arbeloa said. “Nobody likes to lose, least of all us, but we’re not hurt. There’s a long way to go. On Wednesday, we have another final, another very important game.”
Budimir was a key player in Osasuna’s threat throughout. The Croatian forward curled narrowly wide early on and forced Thibaut Courtois into a sharp save after meeting Ruben Garcia’s cross. He also clipped the post with a header as the hosts signalled their intent.
Madrid defender David Alaba came close at the other end before the decisive moment arrived. Budimir burst into the area and went down under a challenge from Courtois. Initially booked for diving, the decision was overturned following a VAR review that showed the goalkeeper had stood on his foot.
Budimir calmly converted the penalty, sending Courtois the wrong way.
Osasuna defended resolutely after the break, though Arda Guler nearly levelled with a fierce effort that flew just over. Arbeloa introduced Trent Alexander-Arnold and Brahim Diaz to inject creativity, and Madrid improved.
Kylian Mbappe had a goal ruled out for offside before the equaliser arrived. Fede Valverde surged into the box and squared for Vinicius to score his fifth goal in four matches.
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