3 winners and losers from Barcelona’s 1-0 La Liga victory against Osasuna

Barcelona are closer than ever to their first La Liga title in four years thanks to a dramatic 1-0 win over Osasuna at the Spotify Camp Nou on Tuesday evening thanks to a late winner by Jordi Alba. Barça played against 10 men for the final hour of the match but needed to wait untilt he final five minutes to finally get the victory, which puts them 14 points clear at the top of the table for at least a couple of hours and in essence ends the title race.

Here are the winners and losers from Tuesday’s action.

Winners

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Jordi Alba: It is fitting that a Barça legend scores the goal that ends the title race for good in a season when he’s seen his playing time severely diminished by the rise of Alejandro Balde, but Alba’s passion for the badge and ability to impact the game in multiple ways hasn’t diminished at all. He continues to be a major threat in attack and while his future is still uncertain, it won’t be a bad thing if he’s back for one more season with the club. His celebration of the game-winner was absolutely glorious, and you can see his love for Barça is still just as strong as it was when he was a little boy growing up in La Masia.

Frenkie De Jong: A fantastic performance from the Dutchman, who probably won’t get as much credit as he deserves for the brilliant assist he gave to Alba’s winner, showing his remarkable poise and creativity even in high-pressure situations. He ran the show all night and made some outrageous passes that constantly found his teammates in great positions, and he deserved to score but unfortunately couldn’t make a great contact on the ball when he had a big chance early in the second half. That goal would have been the cherry on top, but he was still amazing and a big reason why Barça played very well against a parked bus.

Losers

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Ansu Fati: On the same night that his agent and father met in the Catalan capital to discuss his future, the Prince was given a chance to shine when he replaced the injured Gavi in the first half and played the final 60 minutes of the game. You can see how hungry he is to score, but that eagerness got in the way of the team’s success multiple times when Ansu ignored teammates in much better positions to try and seek glory for himself. That poor decision-making that sometimes borders on selfishness helps explain why he struggles to get consistent minutes on a team that is at his best when it constantly and quickly changes the ball. I don’t want his Barça career to end this summer, but it seems as though we are reaching a point of no return with a player who had the potential to become a club legend three years ago, and a breakup might just be best for all parties involved.