Ilaix Moriba of FC Barcelona celebrates with Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele after scoring their team's second goal during the La Liga Santander match between C.A. Osasuna and FC Barcelona at Estadio El Sadar on March 06, 2021 in Pamplona, Spain Image credit: Getty Images
Ilaix Moriba of FC Barcelona celebrates with Lionel Messi and Ousmane Dembele after scoring their team's second goal during the La Liga Santander match between C.A. Osasuna and FC Barcelona at Estadio El Sadar on March 06, 2021 in Pamplona, Spain Image credit: Getty Images

Barcelona moved to within just points of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 away win over Osasuna at El Sadar.

Antoine Griezmann returned to the Barca starting lineup after three games on the bench while Gerard Pique missed out after suffering another injury in the Copa del Rey comeback win over Sevilla.

The visitors started well and took the lead on the half-hour mark when Lionel Messi picked a pass from deep for Jordi Alba to run on to with the left back lashing home a powerful strike at the near post.

Ousmane Dembele was introduced for the start of the second half, but the switch to a 4-3-3 formation didn’t work for Barcelona as Osasuna took charge and pressed for an equaliser that never came.

Barca made sure of the result late on when 18-year-old Ilaix Moriba came off the bench to score his first goal for the club, curling a left-footed strike into the top left corner of Sergio Herrera’s net.

Ronald Koeman’s resurgent side are now just two points adrift off Atletico Madrid’s pace at the top of La Liga, although the capital club still hold two games in-hand. But with the two Madrid clubs set to meet each other in the derby tomorrow, Barca have done all they can to apply pressure.