Osasuna seize control early as Valencia see red at El Sadar
Osasuna leaned into the El Sadar surge, struck early, and then held firm. A 1-0 win over Valencia came from a ninth-minute header by Ante Budimir, set up by a perfect Valentin Rosier cross, and the contest flipped again when Valencia captain José Luis Gayà was sent off before the half-hour. In a loud, unforgiving stadium, the visitors played more than two-thirds of a tight, bruising LaLiga match with ten men and paid for it.
The tone was set in the opening exchanges. Valencia tried to press in a medium-to-high block, move the ball wide, and pin Osasuna back. But the first clean look belonged to the hosts. Rosier found space on the right, shaped his body early, and bent a cross into the corridor between center-back and keeper. Budimir did the rest—timed his run, met it flush, and buried the header from close range. One chance, one goal, and a jolt of noise from 21,226 fans.
Carlos Corberán’s side attempted to steady the game with longer spells of possession. They nudged full-backs higher and looked for quick wall passes to find gaps behind Osasuna’s first press. Then came the twist that defined the night. In the 22nd minute, a Valencia corner turned into an Osasuna counter when Víctor Muñoz pounced on a loose touch and broke into space. Gayà, chasing the turnover, failed to regain control and clipped the move down. Referee Jesús Gil Manzano reached for red. From that point, Valencia’s margin for error evaporated.
Down a man, Valencia dropped into a compact 4-4-1 without the ball and tried to keep the distances tight. The wings tracked deeper, especially on Rosier’s flank, to protect the far post against more of those early crosses. The plan worked in spells. It made the game slower, more physical, and more about second balls. But it also reduced Valencia’s threat going the other way. Their counters lacked bodies. Their corners became chances simply to breathe.
If Valencia stayed in the contest, it was largely because Julen Agirrezabala refused to blink. The goalkeeper got two strong hands to a driven effort from Moi Gómez that skipped off the turf and looked nasty. He palmed away a couple of awkward cutbacks and claimed high balls under pressure to release some of the stress on his back line. Those interventions kept the deficit at one and left Osasuna looking over their shoulder until the final whistle.
Tactics, turning points, and the road ahead
Rosier was named Player of the Match, and it fit the pattern of play. His assist told the story, but so did the running. He kept stretching the field, forced Valencia to shuffle bodies across, and made the game feel long for a tiring ten-man team. On a night of few genuine chances, his early quality made the difference.
Osasuna leaned into a direct, no-nonsense approach once they were ahead. They hit diagonals toward the right, crashed the box with two and sometimes three runners, and trusted the back four to win first contact when Valencia went long. The plan matched the venue. El Sadar rewards teams that play forward and recycle the ball quickly, and Osasuna used that energy to hem Valencia in for long stretches after the red card.
Corberán’s adjustments were pragmatic. He kept a single outlet high to chase clearances and tried to squeeze the middle third so Osasuna couldn’t slice through the first line. When Valencia did get up the pitch, it was usually through set pieces. A few deliveries caused panic, but not a clean, back-post finish. The final action—either the last pass or the first touch—kept letting them down.
- 9': Budimir heads in Rosier’s cross for 1-0, the hosts’ first clear chance.
- 22': Gayà sent off after stopping an Osasuna break triggered by Víctor Muñoz.
- Second half: Agirrezabala makes key saves, including a sharp stop from Moi Gómez.
- Final minutes: Valencia push with set pieces but can’t find the equalizer.
The red card hovered over everything that followed. Gayà, who later admitted “the sending off affected the game,” knew it left Valencia walking a tightrope. Corberán acknowledged the reality too: defending at El Sadar against a direct, relentless side is hard enough with eleven. With ten, every clearance just invites the ball right back at you.
Osasuna’s winners on the night were their wide players and their back line. The right side produced the decisive moment; the defense handled the rest. They protected the near post on crosses, cleared their box with minimum fuss, and stayed alert when Valencia tried to drag them into set-piece duels. When the game threatened to become chaotic, they took the sting out of it with simple decisions and steady positioning.
For Valencia, there were still positives in the mess. The work rate never dipped. The center backs held their line and didn’t overcommit in transition. The keeper looked sharp and decisive. But the path to points in this league is thin when discipline cracks. Playing a man down for over an hour will test anyone’s depth, and the suspension fallout now leaves Corberán a problem to solve at left-back for the next match.
Context matters in August, too. Early-season games carry more noise than clarity. Both teams are still forming habits and ironing out new combinations. For Osasuna, this is the blueprint: score first at home, feed off the crowd, and grind. It’s a reliable way to bank points before winter. For Valencia, the assignment is straightforward if not simple—tidy up the first phase, protect the ball on set-piece exits, and keep eleven men on the field. The structure was there early; the execution wasn’t.
Referee Jesús Gil Manzano kept a firm grip on a contest that threatened to boil when challenges piled up after the dismissal. The big call defined the night, but the rest of the whistle felt measured. He let the game breathe where he could and clamped down when tempo turned into tension. That balance helped prevent the match from spiraling once fatigue kicked in.
The atmosphere was exactly what you’d expect in Pamplona. Loud, impatient, and always leaning toward the goal Osasuna were attacking. Every 50-50 first touch drew a roar. Every recovery run got a cheer. That constant push is why opponents talk about El Sadar the way they do: the ball seems to come back at you faster than you can clear it. Osasuna rode that wave for the first hour and then defended their box with a veteran’s calm.
Strip the game back to the essentials and the picture is simple. One early cross with quality. One commanding header. One red that cut the legs from under Valencia’s plan. Everything else was game management. Osasuna executed it. Valencia resisted but never found the one moment they needed. In a season that will ask questions of both, this was a reminder of how thin the margins are when you’re chasing a result in Pamplona.