FC Barcelona made no mistake against bottom line Real Oviedo on Sunday. The Catalans recovered from their poor first half after the break and won 3-0 thanks to Dani Olmo, Raphinha and Lamine Yamal. Barcelona now has one point more than closest pursuer Real Madrid. Oviedo is eight points away from enforcement.
Barcelona would have a particularly mediocre first half, in which they managed only one shot on target. The team of coach Hansi Flick made an unmotivated impression. There were no runs and the tempo was too slow to break the bottom line.
Oviedo tried to strike here and there via the counter, but the PhD student lacked quality. Just before half time, Barcelona finally launched a nice attack. Raphinha’s volley that followed was saved by goalkeeper Aarón Escandell.
Shortly after the break, Barcelona broke the ban. Lamine Yamal put excellent pressure in the box and the visitors’ defense proved unable to withstand it. Yamal took over possession and laid it on for Olmo, whose shot ended up in the far corner: 1-0.
A little later a new blunder was the basis for the decision. Raphinha put pressure on defender David Costas, who came up with a back pass that was far too short. Raphinha took over the ball and outwitted Escandell with a bounce: 2-0.
Barcelona, with captain Frenkie de Jong in the starting line-up, had done its duty and then fell back into old patterns, characterized by a lot of ball possession, low pace and little creativity.
Twenty minutes before the end, there was still something to enjoy for the supporters. Olmo passed the outside foot to Yamal, who left Escandell completely without a chance with his wonderful bicycle kick: 3-0. Yamal was then treated to a nice crowd change.
Moments later, the crowd made itself heard again when Santi Cazorla entered the field. For the 41-year-old club legend from Oviedo, it was most likely the last time he played a match at Camp Nou. There was no more scoring in the final phase.
