Lewandowski scores late penalty in Barcelona’s 2-1 win

BARCELONA, Spain (AP):

For a second straight game, Robert Lewandowski came to Barcelona’s rescue after he earned and converted an 86th-minute penalty to grab a 2-1 win for Barcelona at Osasuna yesterday.

Lewandowski’s winner came 10 minutes after substitute Chimy Ávila equalised for Osasuna. Barcelona defender Jules Koundé headed in the opening goal in first-half injury time.

Barcelona’s win kept them two points behind Spanish league leaders Real Madrid after four rounds.

Lewandowski also scored the winner for Barcelona in a 4-3 thriller at Villarreal last weekend.

“He is a natural-born scorer,” coach Xavi Hernández said about Lewandowski, who helped Barcelona recover the league title last year after he arrived from Bayern Munich.

“Maybe he didn’t have that many touches today, but even if he hadn’t scored, it would have been a great game by him,” Xavi said. “His goals have given us back-to-back wins.”

The game in Pamplona included the debuts of João Cancelo and João Félix as second-half substitutes. The Portugal players joined Barcelona on loan deals just before the close of the summer transfer window on Friday night.

Osasuna played the final minutes with 10 men after Alejandro Catena earned a red card for his foul on Lewandowski with only goalkeeper Aitor Fernández to beat. Lewandowski’s goal from the resulting penalty was his second of the season.

For Xavi, the win was not pretty, but it was well earned at Osasuna, a team that reached the Copa del Rey final last season and whose physical style puts most visitors to the test.

“We didn’t play our best game, and in some stages, we weren’t patient enough or able to create scoring chances,” Xavi said. “(But) the truth is the team worked hard. Today we put on our work clothes. We knew how to dig in and get the win.”

Koundé broke through in first-half injury time when he brushed off his marker and headed a corner kick by Ilkay Gundogan inside the far post and out of reach of Fernández.

Cancelo made his first appearance as a substitute just two days after he joined Barcelona on loan from Manchester City. The right back replaced Sergi Roberto with just over half an hour to go.

Shortly after, Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate renewed his entire attack, sending on Chimy, Ante Budimir, and Kike Barja. The hosts soon pressed Barcelona into defending its area.

Chimy’s equaliser was similar to so many goals scored by fellow Argentine Lionel Messi for Barcelona. Apparently well marked by Alejandro Balde outside the area, Chimy sped from right to left along the edge of the box before unleashing a left-footed strike that curled around a group of defenders and went in off the post.