PAMPLONA: Ante Budimir scored a late goal to guide Osasuna to a 1-0 victory over Alaves in their La Liga 2023-24 clash at El Sadar Stadium on Monday.

The first half of the game remained goalless as both teams made several efforts to earn the lead but could not get a breakthrough.

Budimir came close to opening the scoring in the 36th minute when he found a cross by Ruben Garcia following a corner and hit a header but it narrowly missed the goal.

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Meanwhile, Alaves goalkeeper made an impressive save to deny Budimir another goal at the stroke of the first half.

But the Croatian striker did not slow down and broke the deadlock to score the only goal in the match, leading Osasuna to their 10th victory in the ongoing La Liga season.

Budimir once again met Garcia’s cross and hit a left-footed shot from outside the box which hit the top left corner a mere 14 minutes before the final time.

The Croatian stood out in the match courtesy of his brilliance in the field and the black protective face mask he wore.

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After the match, he reflected on his performance as well as the mask, which he wore after suffering a nose injury during the Las Palmas match last week.

“The mask has been good. It was the only way to play, and playing is the only thing that matters,” said Budimir.

“As for the goal, it was a clean strike. And then you just enjoy seeing it hit the net.”

Meanwhile, in another La Liga clash, defending champions Barcelona and Atheltic Club settled for a goalless draw.

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