BARCELONA, Jan 25 : Barcelona capitalised on two defensive mistakes by bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo to seal a 3-0 victory at a rain-drenched Camp Nou on Sunday, regaining top spot in LaLiga.
Goals from Dani Olmo, Raphinha, and an acrobatic Lamine Yamal strike powered the Catalans to 52 points, one ahead of Real Madrid, while Atletico Madrid trail in third on 44.
Barca struggled to break the deadlock against a spirited Oviedo until they finally found the breakthrough in the 52nd minute, with Olmo striking home following a defensive lapse.
Five minutes later, Oviedo’s struggles deepened, with defender David Costas under-hitting a back pass, which Raphinha intercepted before calmly chipping the onrushing keeper Aaron Escandell to double Barcelona’s lead.
Yamal wrapped up Barca’s win by scoring in the 73rd minute with a brilliant acrobatic volley from an Olmo cross.
In relentless rain that later turned to hail, Barcelona started sluggishly as Oviedo, with just two wins all season, threatened to shock their hosts.
Moroccan Ilyas Chaira went close in the 29th minute, firing narrowly wide from the edge of the box after a swift counter-attack. A few minutes earlier, Haissem Hassan also caused concern for Barcelona’s backline with a pacey break forward.
Missing the injured Pedri, who is set to miss a month with a muscle problem sustained during their recent Champions League win over Slavia Prague, Barcelona lacked their usual midfield creativity.
Robert Lewandowski went close to breaking the deadlock in the 33rd minute, narrowly missing the target with a header from Yamal’s inviting cross, as the Catalans began to find their feet.
Both teams traded late first-half chances, with Barcelona keeper Joan Garcia saving a close-range effort from Chaira, while Oviedo’s Escandell produced a stunning reflex stop to deny Raphinha’s volley.
Barcelona finally broke through after the interval, thanks to a costly error. Oviedo defender David Carmo hesitated while attempting to clear, allowing Yamal to press and deflect the ball into Olmo’s path.
The midfielder calmly slotted into the bottom corner in the 52nd minute to give the home side the lead, with Raphinha extending their advantage five minutes later thanks to another self-inflicted wound by Oviedo.
“That’s our idea, to press high up the pitch and try to win the ball back as quickly as possible. It’s a shame what happened to their defenders, but that’s what I have to do,” Raphinha told DAZN.
“We knew it would not be easy. They’re a team that presses you and tries to play with the ball. I don’t think we were at our best in the first half but in the second, we managed to score the goals and that’s the most important thing, what we were looking for.”
Yamal put the result beyond doubt in the 73rd minute with a moment of brilliance. Olmo’s perfectly weighted cross found the Spanish teenager at the far post, where he leapt to score with an exquisite scissor kick volley that nestled just inside the right post.
Heavy rain turned to hail as the match wore on, forcing many fans to flee the stands for cover, leaving the Camp Nou near-empty for the final minutes.
Despite the blustery conditions, Barcelona controlled the remainder of the game, securing a vital three points to regain pole position in the title race.
