Aspas rules Comunio, Carreira surges and Marcos Alonso sinks in Osasuna's comeback

R.C. Celta de Vigo

The match corresponded to the opening round, initially postponed due to the problems the Balaidos pitch had suffered. Both teams arrived level on points after two straight 0-0 draws, with Celta against Valencia and Osasuna against Levante. The result allows the Navarrese to reach four points, while Claudio Giraldez's side are left with one after their first two fixtures.

First half

Celta found the game they were looking for very early on. The Vigo side had more of the ball, moved Osasuna from side to side, and were especially aggressive in their pressing after losing possession. Miguel Roman and Ilaix Moriba kept the circulation going, and the wide channels allowed the Celeste side to stretch the pitch. In the first half, the hosts controlled possession more and made it very difficult for Osasuna to get close to Radu.

The advantage arrived in the 13th minute and carried the usual signature. Miguel Roman found Iago Aspas in the three-quarter area; the captain advanced towards the box, created space for himself, and fired a left-footed cross shot that beat Sergio Herrera. More than a pile-up of chances, Celta's dominance was built from control: Osasuna tried to respond with shots from Abel Bretones and Raul Garcia de Haro, but they never really put Radu under siege. Celta went into the break ahead and with the feeling that they had the match exactly where they wanted it.

Second half

Everything broke down within a few minutes of the restart. Osasuna brought on Iker Munoz, and Marcos Alonso's challenge on the midfielder was initially punished with a yellow card. After checking the monitor on VAR instructions, Miguel Sesma Espinosa changed the decision and sent off the centre-back in the 50th minute. Giraldez reacted by sacrificing Aspas to bring on Starfelt and reshuffle the defence, but there was barely time to organize the new shape.

In the 53', Kike Barja attacked the area from a second line position and turned a cross from the side into the 1-1. In a matter of minutes, Osasuna had gone from chasing the ball to playing with numerical superiority and began pushing Celta back into their own area. Ten minutes later came the second blow: an incident inside the area ended with a handball given to Javi Galan and Budimir converted the penalty in the 63'. VAR did not change the decision, and Balaidos went from controlling the match to living it with maximum tension.

With ten men, Celta tried to rebuild through substitutions. Sergio Carreira was one of the players who improved the team the most from the bench and ended up starring in a decisive defensive action by clearing the ball off the line that prevented the 1-3. Starfelt also looked for an equalizer from above in the final stretch, but Osasuna managed the spaces better and protected a lead that did not move during the eight minutes of added time.

Comunio / Sofascore standout players

23

Iago Aspas
6.100.000€+400.000€ ?

J4

4

J3

3

J2

12

J1

DL

01

For Celta, Iago Aspas was again the big fantasy name with 12 Comunio points and 7.7 on Sofascore. His goal explains much of that rating, and his early exit was due to Giraldez's need to rebuild the defence after being reduced to ten. Even though he played a little more than a half, he finished as the highest-scoring Celeste player in Comunio.

Sergio Carreira's performance was especially striking: he came on in the second half and finished with 10 Comunio points and an 8.0 on Sofascore, the best statistical mark of the match. His intervention on the line and his ability to advance with the ball gave a lot of value to a relatively short spell on the pitch. For fantasy players, his showing leaves an interesting sign if he manages to have more presence in the coming matchdays.

The other side was Marcos Alonso, who ended with -3 Comunio points and 6.1 on Sofascore. The sending off in the 50th minute completely conditioned his rating and, above all, turned a match that until then had been under Celta's control.

14

Kike Barja
610.000€ ?

J4

4

J3

0

J2

10

J1

MD

01

For Osasuna, the best scorer in Comunio was Kike Barja, with 10 points and a 7.2 on Sofascore. The equalizer goal was the moment that definitively changed the momentum of the clash. Alejandro Catena also came out strongly: he added 7 Comunio points and a 7.4 on Sofascore, the best rating of his team, holding the defence and keeping the circulation going from the back.

Ante Budimir added 8 Comunio points and 6.9 on Sofascore. His impact was concentrated in the area, but it was precisely there where Osasuna needed their striker: he took the penalty and scored the goal that decided the match. Barja, Catena and Budimir thus emerge as the main red-and-ones fantasy names of the day.

Match details

Result: Celta de Vigo 1-2 Osasuna.

Goals: 1-0, Iago Aspas (13'); 1-1, Kike Barja (53'); 1-2, Ante Budimir (63', penalty).

Stadium: Estadio Abanca Balaidos.

Referee: Miguel Sesma Espinosa. Sent off Marcos Alonso in the 50th minute.

Celta de Vigo: Radu; Javi Rodriguez, Yoel Lago, Marcos Alonso; Javi Rueda, Miguel Roman, Ilaix Moriba, Javi Galan; Iago Aspas, Pablo Duran and Williot Swedberg.

Osasuna: Sergio Herrera; Inigo Arguibide, Alejandro Catena, Jorge Herrando, Abel Bretones; Lucas Torrо, Jon Moncayola, Asier Osambela; Kike Barja, Jonathan Dubasin and Raul Garcia de Haro.