A clear message to remain respectful of the match officials was sent out before the game in light of the abuse received by the referee of Osasuna’s controversy-filled clash with Real Madrid - a match in which Los Rojillos earned an unexpected point.
They looked to build on that and forged some chances very early on, with top scorer Ante Budimir notably poking wide after a fortunate bounce to him in the area. The Croatian continued to trouble defenders and almost pressured Hugo Sotelo into deflecting into his own net from an Osasuna corner.
Bayern Munich loanee Bryan Zaragoza then lashed wide of the mark for the visitors after brilliantly shifting it away from a couple of Celta challenges.
Until then, there had been little for Celta to shout about going forward, but that started to change following Zaragoza’s chance.
Their only real opportunity of note before the break involved Borja Iglesias failing to squeeze it past Sergio Herrera from a tight angle, but manager Claudio Giraldez would no doubt have been encouraged by their enhanced possession and territory leading up to half-time.
It therefore wasn’t long following the restart before Celta experienced their best opportunity yet, with Marcos Alonso’s long diagonal taken on by Fer Lopez, who cut inside and fired against the outstretched palms of Herrera.
Celta then failed to convert chances for Iglesias and Williot Swedberg, but the introduction of club legend Iago Aspas was what finally turned things in their favour.
His cross found Iglesias, who was felled in the area by a combination of Jorge Herrando and Lucas Torro, allowing Aspas to step up and pass into the bottom left from the spot, giving his side the lead.
Their hopes now likely resting on what would be a remarkable fifth 1-1 draw in their last six matches, Osasuna poured bodies forward in the final stages, but the Celta rearguard defended valiantly and ultimately looked comfortable in bringing home the victory.
Osasuna may have been battling for the European spots not so long ago, but the result brings Celta level on points with the Pamplona side. That’s mostly down to the Sky Blues’ 26 points earned on home turf, which betters all but two of their LaLiga counterparts ahead of the rest of the weekend’s action.