Osasuna stun Real Zaragoza

Lafita gave the hosts the lead inside the opening quarter of an hour with a stunning finish which left the Osasuna goalkeeper Ricardo no chance.

The visitors levelled just after the hour mark through Javier Camunas thanks to a dismal piece of goalkeeping from Zaragoza's Antonio Doblas, before Sergio Fernandez's header gave Osasuna a shock 70th minute lead and Kike Sola ended the contest with a close-range finish.

Osasuna knew that a victory would haul them away from the relegation zone despite starting the day languishing down in 18th spot, but they made an inauspicious start.

Real Zaragoza flew out of the blocks, and Lafita gave the hosts a 14th minute lead with an emphatic finish after he latched on to a deflected long ball from Javier Paredes which parted the Osasuna defence.

What ensued in the first half was fragmented play, notable for niggly fouls and only very fleeting spells of sustained possession from either side.

Paredes was booked for a nasty foul on Damia midway through the half, and the hosts were prepared to consolidate their slender advantage with less than adventurous play.

Neither manager deemed it necessary to make any changes at the break, with the onus on Osasuna to attack in search of a priceless strike or two.

The second half was a much more open and expansive affair, with both sides prepared to commit bodies forward in attack, but clear-cut chances remained at a premium.

Striker Ander Herrera squandered a glorious opportunity to double his side's lead in the 55th minute after he inexplicably sliced his shot over from just six yards following distinguished work from strike partner Ikechukwu Uche out on the right wing.

Herrera was promptly substituted just seconds later, and both managers made changes to freshen up their forward lines in a bid to inject a thus far lacking cutting edge.

Osasuna did draw level in the 63rd minute, but it was in very tame fashion. Camunas drove a seemingly innocuous shot from the edge of the Zaragoza box, only for the Zaragoza keeper Doblas to unbelievably dive over the ball and let it squirm through his grasp and into the net.

It was a very poor goal for Zaragoza to concede, and Camunas added to the comical nature of the goal by pretending to shoot members of the Osasuna bench with a toy gun in what was a frankly bizarre celebration.

Sergio then put the resurgent visitors in front eight minutes later with a precise header after he stole in at the back post to direct his effort beyond Doblas and into the far corner of the net from Francisco Punal's free kick.

Zaragoza desperately piled forward in their droves as they sought a swift response, and substitute Said Boutahar went closest in the 77th minute with a fierce low drive against the far post with Ricardo comprehensively beaten.

Osasuna looked to hit their hosts on the break at every opportunity, and one such counter attack saw Kike Sola tap home from close range after a sublime lay off from Camunas, who had outstripped Paulo Da Silva down the left wing.

As a result of the victory, Osasuna climb up to 14th place in the table on 41 points, while Zaragoza are left perilously close to the bottom three with 39 in 17th spot.