It was a joyous Sunday night for Osasuna at the Reale Arena, as they made the short trip to Gipuzkoa to beat their Basque rivals 2-0. Both goals came as a result of Bryan Zaragoza assists, as he continues his fine form in Pamplona.
Only five sides have more than the 16 goals in 11 games that Osasuna have put up, and with weapons like Ante Budimir and Bryan Zaragoza, not many can put together such a dangerous duo. It move Los Rojillo up to 8th place in La Liga, and level on 18 points with Athletic Club in 5th. It took Zaragoza’s tally of assists to 5, joint-fourth behind only Vinicius Junior, Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
It also ended a run of 1,031 days for manager Vicente Moreno without an away win in La Liga, once he will be delighted to get off his back. During his time at Espanyol and Almeria he struggled with his away form, and overall has just 3 wins in 45 away outings, as per Relevo.
“I didn’t know the days, I wasn’t counting them. You have to take it naturally, winning a game is always difficult and depending on which teams it is even more difficult. Let’s see if this year, being in a team like Osasuna we can win many games away from home.”
No doubt Moreno will be hoping to avoid any similar streaks, but the signs are promising so far. Despite struggling away to Rayo and Girona, picking up points against Getafe, Valencia, and now beating La Real will boost confidence away from El Sadar. Increasingly it looks as if they could be one of the frisky sides in the European race, alongside Celta Vigo and RCD Mallorca.