Barcelona extended their lead at the top of LaLiga, as two second-half goals from Raphinha gave them a 2-0 win over Osasuna.

Raphinha scored twice for Barcelona as they beat Osasuna 2-0 to go seven points clear at the top of LaLiga.

The forward bagged both of his goals in the second half against a stubborn Osasuna defence at Camp Nou, helping Hansi Flick`s side extend their lead over second-place Real Madrid, who face Alaves on Sunday.

Barca thought they had the lead in the 23rd minute when Ferran Torres headed in from Marcus Rashford`s first-time cross, but it was disallowed after a VAR check due to Raphinha being offside in the build-up.

Lamine Yamal and Rashford both went close for the hosts either side of half-time, while Vitor Munoz failed to test Joan Garcia at the other end after being played through on goal early on in the second half.

And Osasuna were made to rue that miss when Raphinha broke the deadlock in the 70th minute. After receiving a pass from Pedri, the Brazilian dribbled towards the edge of the box, before firing into the bottom-right corner.

Yamal went close to adding a second with a curling effort, with his shot saved by Sergio Herrera, but the Blaugrana eventually doubled their advantage with four minutes to go, when Raphinha converted from Jules Kounde`s deflected cross.

Data Debrief: Determination pays off for Raphinha

It was a thoroughly deserved victory for Barca, who produced 2.61 expected goals (xG) from 24 shots to Osasuna`s 0.37 from just three attempts.

And Raphinha was relentless in his pursuit of a goal, recording a game-high seven shots and accounting for 1.1 of Barca`s overall xG.

Barcelona have now won their last seven LaLiga matches by a margin of at least two goals, doing so for the first time since a run of eight in 2017 (five under Luis Enrique and three under Ernesto Valverde).

Flick: Achieving Victory is Most Important, Pedri and Raphinha Make the Difference

Hans Flick, the head coach of Barcelona, expressed his happiness with the win over Osasuna in the 16th round of the Spanish league, emphasizing that the most important thing is to secure the three points and continue leading the table, following the 2-0 victory at Spotify Camp Nou stadium.

Flick said: "The most important thing is the three points. We controlled the match and held possession exceeding 80%, and we were organized defensively. Although we did not create many clear chances, we scored two goals, and it is always good to keep a clean sheet."

He added: "I congratulate all the players for their great effort and the way they defended throughout the match."

The Barcelona coach continued talking about the first goal, saying: "We found spaces in the moment of the first goal, and the pass was perfect. Pedri is an amazing player, top class, exceptional in every sense of the word."

He continued his praise, saying: "Raphinha is a very important player for us, and scoring two goals is significant for him and the team. They defended with a low block, making it difficult to find spaces, but when they appeared, we exploited them thanks to the quality of Pedri and Raphinha."

Flick added regarding the league lead: "I don`t think much about the other teams, the season is still long. We focus on ourselves and want to win every match."

He continued: "We put pressure on our rivals, but our main goal is to win and maintain good performance," pointing out that the team has been heading in the right direction recently.

Hans Flick concluded his statements saying: "The defense line played a great match, and everyone was up to the responsibility. Gerard Marten has improved a lot, and Kobarci is delivering wonderful performances despite his young age, which reflects the good work within the club."