With only two points separating the sides prior to kick-off, Osasuna’s first home game since the FIFA World Cup break promised to be a close-fought contest.
The first meaningful chance of the match fell the way of Chimy Avila, who fired over from the edge of the box. With Mallorca content to sit deep and look for opportunities on the counter-attack, Osasuna were finding it difficult to consistently create clear-cut chances.
Midway through the first half, Predrag Rajkovic was called into action, comfortably gathering Lucas Torro’s weak header. Against the run of play, Mallorca spurned the chance to take the lead on the half-hour mark when Pablo Maffeo’s lofted cross found fellow full-back Jaume Costa, who could only guide his half-volley wide of the Osasuna goal.
The visitors may have proven to be an immovable object in the first period, but their resistance was broken within two minutes of the restart. Abde Ezzalzouli’s threaded pass found the run of Moi Gomez, and he squared the ball for Aimar Oroz to unleash a fierce strike past Rajkovic.
Almost immediately, Mallorca went agonisingly close to restoring parity when Iddrisu Baba’s fizzing long-range effort grazed the outside of the post.
In a bid to find a leveller, Javier Aguirre introduced a number of substitutes in the second half, including Abdon Prats, who scored a stoppage-time winner in Mallorca’s previous outing.
However, it was an Osasuna substitute that so nearly made an impact, with Kike Garcia driving his low shot just inches wide of the post.
Ultimately, a second Osasuna goal was not required as a blunt Mallorca attack eventually ran out of ideas, ensuring the visitors remained in tenth position.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aimar Oroz (Osasuna)
