Two home wins for Osasuna before this clash meant they entertained Rayo having already accumulated almost a third of last season's points tally at El Sadar, contributing to their best La Liga start in 17 years. Suitably confident from the outset, Los Rojillos should have gone ahead in just the third minute through summer signing Moi Gómez, who pounced on Iván Balliu’s back pass to goalkeeper Stole Dimitrievski, only to be thwarted by a fine reflex save from the Macedonian.
Moments later, Balliu atoned for his previous error, cutting out a right-hand cross from Chimy Avila, which was destined for Oroz, who would have otherwise been left with a simple tap-in. Rayo settled into a rhythm from that point for a 0-0 HT scoreline, but Osasuna still posed the greater threat, landing double Rayo’s number of first-half shots on goal and saves forced.
See stats from the match at Flashscore
The game was in desperate need of an injection of pace, with both sides lacking potency going forward. That was until Osasuna boss Jagoba Arrasate juggled the pack, bringing on Darko Brašanac in the 53rd minute. It took just two minutes for him to have an impact, with the Serbian reaching the byline through a fine darting run, before cutting the ball back for Oroz who rolled it home. Forcibly sparked into life, Rayo were screaming for a penalty minutes later after some neat trickery from Álvaro García. At first sight, it looked like a clear-cut incident, but after consulting VAR, referee Alejandro Ruiz deemed García better-suited to amateur dramatics, as he brandished a yellow card for simulation.
Becoming increasingly frustrated with his fellow attackers, it took centre-back Lejeune to step up and take responsibility for the away side late on. He was left with a freekick wide on the left. which was struck well and evaded everyone to level the scores late on. But there was still time for Osasuna to win it, with Rubén García providing the finish to blast home, following fine trickery down the left from Barcelona loanee Ez Abde.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Aimar Oroz (CA Osasuna)
