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

BARCELONA: 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 on Sunday.

Lewandowski’s winner came 10 minutes after substitute Chimy Ávila equalized 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 Felix 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 which 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.