Madrid, February 22 – Real Madrid's brief stint as league leader in La Liga will end if FC Barcelona wins at home against Levante on Sunday, after their eight-game winning streak was ended by a 2-1 defeat away to Osasuna.
The team from Pamplona continued their improved form in 2026 with a dominant performance, and were rewarded when Ante Budimir opened the scoring in the 38th minute after being brought down by Thibaut Courtois. The Croatian then scored from the penalty spot.
Vinicius Jr equalized for Real Madrid in the 73rd minute after great work from Fede Valverde, but Raul Garcia won the match for Osasuna in the final minute when he beat the offside trap, turned, and curled a shot into the far corner of the goal, delighting the fans at the El Sadar Stadium.
Atletico Madrid came back from conceding an early goal to win 4-2 at home against Espanyol.
Jofre Carreras put Espanyol ahead after just five minutes, but Alexander Sorloth equalized in the 20th minute, and Giuliano Simeone put Atletico ahead three minutes into the second half before Ademola Lookman continued his positive start at the Metropolitano Stadium with Atletico's third goal in the 57th minute.
Sorloth added his second of the night before Edu Exposito pulled one back for Espanyol with 10 minutes left to play.
Betis' efforts to climb into the top four suffered a setback when they drew 1-1 at home against Rayo Vallecano in a game that will be remembered for two VAR checks that saw the second half lasting 59 minutes.
Cedric Bakambu put Betis ahead in the 16th minute after Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla failed to hold onto a cross, although Rayo leveled before halftime when Isi Palazon slid home a cross at the far post.
Both VAR checks were to see if two fouls were inside the rival penalty area, but after long deliberations, neither led to a penalty being awarded.
Eric Bailly's late header saved a point for Oviedo in a thrilling 3-3 draw away to Real Sociedad. Goals from Federico Vinas after 50 and 52 minutes looked to have given Oviedo a comfortable lead, before Real Sociedad hit back with goals from Orri Oskarsson and Duje Caleta-Car and appeared to be set for an incredible comeback when Oskarsson hit his second in the last minute to make the score 3-2.
Bailly saved a point for Oviedo with a header in the 92nd minute, and there was still time for Goncalo Guedes to hit the post with virtually the last kick of the game.