The Good, the Bad, the Beautiful: Ft. Bad Bunny tribute

A round-up of some of La Liga’s most intriguing storylines across the week, traversing through the good, the bad and something beautiful.

The Good: The Braulio Vazquez appreciation society

Osasuna’s Sporting Director Braulio Vazquez is not a name that has been heralded much in international media, but if he were laid back enough to watch football in such a fashion, he might have allowed a wry smile at Raul Garcia de Haro’s back-post winner against Celta Vigo. After the Jagoba Arrasate years, the second-most of successful run in the 21st century in Pamplona, Vicente Moreno was brought in to replace him. Osasuna were in the European race until the final day of the season, but Moreno and Los Rojillo parted ways all the same. Something hadn’t quite fit, there were two willing parties, but an undeniable lack of chemistry.

It’s hard to give call Braulio a visionary for the appointment of Alessio Lisci, who authored a Netflix miracle at Mirandes, but what he has done since does deserve credit. In the first half of the season, Osasuna struggled for consistency, and after some bad breaks, went on a run of eight matchdays where they slid from midtable to 18th, featuring a singular Liga win in 10 games. Just as consistent as gravity, pressure on Lisci began to build.

𝐏𝐄𝐑𝐅𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐈𝐎𝐍 | noun

1: the quality or state of being perfect: such as ⬇️ #LetsGoRojillos | #CeltaOsasuna | #LaLigaHighLights pic.twitter.com/6jagfZfESR

— C. A. OSASUNA (@osasuna_en) February 10, 2026

At that point, Braulio not only backed Lisci, but found a much more effective pressure valve, telling the press that he had left him short of resources. His business was as worthy of critique as Lisci’s management – and it would be addressed. In January, Braulio brought in Raul Moro for €5m from Ajax, and Javi Galan for €500k from Atletico Madrid. Against Celta, both started, as did summer additions Victor Munoz (€5m), one of the revelations of the season, and Valentin Rosier (free), making it four of Braulio’s five additions this year on the pitch.

Moro swirled a ball onto perhaps the most reliable head in La Liga, Ante Budimir, and it flew into top corner in the pouring rain in Vigo. With 10 minutes to go, Munoz found Alejandro Catena in the box and there was Garcia to prod home, right on time. A victory away at Balaidos, against one of the form teams in Spain, lifted Osasuna to 9th, four points behind Celta, and a potential European spot. Their third victory in four, extending a run of just one defeat in seven. Run the numbers, any which you like, they’re all coming up Braulio right now.

The Bad: 17 days to wipe the smile off Manolo Gonzalez’s face

Espanyol manager Manolo Gonzalez and Sporting Director Fran Garagarza have done a fine job, and nothing can take away their first half of their season, but their start to 2026 is a good attempt at making people forget about it. Los Pericos were very much in the game against Villarreal, and arguably the more dangerous side with 10 minutes to go in the first half (0-0) on Monday night. With ten minutes gone in the second, they were 4-0 down.

Ahead of Espanyol’s 4th game of 2026 and as of the 23rd of January, Gonzalez was still in festive as his side prepared to take on Valencia. Asked about mounting pressure following a loss to Barcelona (0-2), a draw with Levante (1-1) and a loss to Girona (0-1), Gonzalez replied with a grin. “I told the players to win, otherwise I’ll be sacked. Please win. I think I might be out if we don’t win in Valencia. If not, I’m finished.”

17 days later, Gonzalez had the following to say in the aftermath of their 4-1 loss to Villarreal.

“We’ve been soft in every aspect of our game, we’ve been talking about it for days. Every time they went for a 50/50 ball, they went all out, and we have to recover that urgently. Otherwise, we’ll have real problems; it’s very difficult to win matches. Either we reset quickly again or it won’t be enough.”

Gonzalez’s first answer was a fair response, the response of a manager who was in charge of a more limited team with much larger problems at the same time last year. Yet their point against Levante (19th) remains their only reward after six games in 2026. The sense of humour is gone, the problems are real.

The Beautiful: A Bad Bunny tribute

It’s a good week to have a Bad Bunny song dedicated to you, but Orri Oskarsson has been the lucky recipient of such an honour at Anoeta. Following his winner against Alaves in the Copa del Rey, Real Sociedad fans have repurposed ‘Cafe con Ron’ [Coffee with rum] to the lyrics In the morning coffee, in the afternoon rum, take me to Sevilla, Orri Oskarsson’ which rhymes wonderfully in Spanish.

🔊 Que vuelva a sonar.

LaLigaHighlights pic.twitter.com/zoecGmhS20

— Real Sociedad Fútbol (@RealSociedad) February 10, 2026

The less said about his back-post blaze over the bar the better, but Real Sociedad fans were given an excuse to employ their vocal chords to the rhythm of Puerto Rico’s finest for a second week in a row. Gliding clear of the defence with seconds remaining in Pellegrino Matarazzo’s 6th win in eight games, Oskarsson’s finish was smooth and confident, movements out of an instruction manual. Just as he did against Alaves.

☕️ LLÉVAME A SEVILLA ORRI OSKARSSON

El gol. La canción. El momento. Así lo hemos vivido en Onda Vasca. 📻#OndaVasca #Konekta pic.twitter.com/PJuOkoKrWp

— Onda Vasca Gipuzkoa (@OVGipuzkoa) February 7, 2026

Oskarsson, who signed for €20m, has had a miserable time since arriving in Donostia-San Sebastian, struggling to settle, to score, to start, to look the part. For the first time in a while, he’s smiling again. The song is a sign the Txuri-Urdin are willing to make him one of their own. There is hope yet that he can be resurrected from Real Sociedad’s number nine graveyard.

https:/twitter.com/RealSociedad/status/2021623010755514560?s=20