Flick takes the blame as Osasuna prevented Barca's perfect start

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Osasuna blighted La Liga leaders Barcelona's perfect start to the season with a comfortable 4-2 win on Saturday, and coach Hansi Flick said he would take the blame.

The Catalans won all seven of their opening games but Flick's heavily rotating side was badly undone in Pamplona when Ante Budimir scored a brace either side of Bryan Zaragoza's strike.

Pau Victor had given Barca a lifeline to get them back into the game before Budimir scored his second from the penalty spot.

Abel Bretones scored a sensational fourth goal from the edge of the box before Lamine Yamal equalized with a great own effort.

With a win, Barcelona would have achieved their best ever start to a league season with eight straight wins, but they failed to extend their four-point lead over second-placed Real Madrid.

The Spanish champions face third-placed Atlético Madrid in a derby on Sunday.

“In the first half we made a lot of mistakes, it's not normal for us to play like that – we had a lot of changes in the team and that's maybe one reason for that,” Flick told reporters.

“I think it was necessary. We had so many games, many players had so many minutes, I have to take care of that. That’s my responsibility.”

“If you want to blame someone for this defeat, take me.”

Ahead of a Champions League game against Young Boys on Tuesday, Flick felt he had to change his team, especially after Barca lost in their European Cup opener in Monaco.

The coach, who was missing several key players due to injury, left the starting eleven to inexperienced defenders Gerard Martin and Sergi Dominguez, as well as Pablo Torre in midfield and Victor in attack.

The coach spared, among others, the Spanish EM 2024 star Yamal and the Brazilian winger Raphinha.

As a result, Barcelona failed to develop in the first half and Osasuna winger Zaragoza took center stage.

Last season, Zaragoza scored twice for Granada in a 2-2 draw against Barca, a performance that earned him a move to Bayern Munich.

Zaragoza, on loan from the German giants, set up the opener for striker Budimir with a fine cross which the Croatian easily converted in the 18th minute after escaping the attention of Dominguez.

Ten minutes later, Zaragoza finished the second himself after being sent on goal, with the winger bypassing goalkeeper Inaki Pena with a beautiful roll of the ball and then firing into an empty net.

Barcelona complained about a foul on Victor in advance, but the referee dismissed the complaints.

The front runners hardly had anything to offer themselves, Ferran Torres had the best opening. However, the Spanish winger miscontrolled the edge of the penalty area and was quickly swallowed up by the Osasuna defense.

Victor brought Barcelona back into the game after Osasuna goalkeeper Sergio Herrera gave the ball away with a poor throw and was unable to keep out his early shot from distance.

With Yamal and Raphinha thrown into the action, Barcelona began to look increasingly dangerous, although top scorer Robert Lewandowski was sent off with 20 minutes left after a poor performance.

As the game progressed, Osasuna increased its lead.

The 19-year-old Dominguez shot down Budimir in the penalty area as he tried to shoot and the striker sank the penalty.

Ruben Pena missed a great chance to grab his fourth goal, but Bretones made no mistake and fired fiercely from the edge of the box.

Yamal struck back brilliantly from distance and set up Torres, who hit the post, but it was too little, too late.

“It's normal that there are rotations, there are a lot of games, that's not an excuse,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Movistar.

“We deserved a little more in the second half, but we scored goals when we were at our best.”

Osasuna moved up to sixth and Zaragoza said his team was determined to beat the leaders.

“We knew Barca were an incredible team, they had won everything and we knew we had to hold on and that's how we came out,” explained the winger.

“It’s a special game and really fun to be a part of.”

Previously, Real Sociedad beat Valencia 3-0 and Getafe won their first game of the season with a 2-0 home win over Alaves. Rayo Vallecano and Leganes shared a 1-1 draw.