Barcelona within touching distance of LaLiga title
Barcelona could win LaLiga next week when it faces rival Real Madrid at Camp Nou after defeating Osasuna 2-1 on Sunday (AEST).
Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres scored in the final 10 minutes at Estadio El Sadar, meaning Barca will be champion if it avoids defeat against Real Madrid next week, or if Los Blancos fail to beat Espanyol on Monday (AEST).
Lewandowski had the first clear chance after being found by Dani Olmo's reverse pass, but the Barca striker could not keep his strike down as it flew over the bar.
Olmo then fired over with a half-chance of his own from distance, while Roony Bardghji forced Sergio Herrera into a comfortable save as the visitors looked to make a breakthrough.
However, Osasuna went close to scoring against the run of play before half-time, with Ante Budimir clipping the post with the outside of his boot and then being denied by Joan Garcia moments later.
Alejandro Catena made a crucial block early in the second half to keep out Olmo, although Lewandowski got the better of Herrera in the 81st minute as he headed in from Marcus Rashford's pinpoint cross.
Ferran doubled their lead soon after with a composed finish from Fermin Lopez's pass, but Ruben Garcia set up a nervy finish when heading in from Abel Bretones's cross in the 88th minute.
"We've now put the pressure on Real Madrid; if they don't win tomorrow, we'll be crowned champions," Torres said after the match.
"Today's match was one of the toughest away fixtures in LaLiga. Those three points were worth more than just three, and I think the team put in a brilliant performance."
Barcelona boss Hansi Flick claimed he does not care about how his side retains the title.
"We've done our job by winning here, and now it's out of our hands," he said.
"We have to wait for Espanyol's match [against Real Madrid], so it doesn't depend on us. The important thing is to win a title, and we'll celebrate when we can win it.
"We wanted to win here. It was a tough match for us. I think we could have done better in the first half, but luckily we were able to score two goals later on.
"We were in control in the first half. We tried to change things up. [Frenkie] De Jong came on for Gavi, who was on a yellow card.
"We took a few more risks, played faster and with more speed, bringing on [Marcus] Rashford and Ferran.
"I'm happy for the team, for the fans. We're happy to have gotten another three points."
