Yamal stars as Barca beat Oviedo

They reclaimed top spot on the LaLiga table

BARCELONA:

Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga with a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo on Sunday, thanks to goals from Dani Olmo, Raphinha and an acrobatic Lamine Yamal effort.

After Real Madrid beat Villarreal on Saturday to take pole position overnight, the Catalans edged a point ahead again.

Although Oviedo are bottom of the table with just two victories all season, Barca had to scrap for their victory as the visitors worked hard defensively to keep Hansi Flick’s team at bay until the second half.

Eventually the hosts’ quality told at the partially-reopened Camp Nou and after Olmo opened the scoring Barca never looked back.

The pick of the goals was Yamal’s strike, an impressive volley from Olmo’s cross to secure Barca’s triumph.

They struggled to make inroads in a dry first half and their passing was unusually imprecise.

Injured midfield maestro Pedri Gonzalez watched on from the stands with an unimpressed expression.

Oviedo looked to attack on the counter and Haissem Hassan drew a save from Joan Garcia from long distance.

At the other end Aaron Escandell made a fine stop at his near post to thwart Raphinha before half-time.

Barca came out with renewed energy for the second half and soon took the lead.

After Yamal and Raphinha pressed well in the box the ball broke loose to Olmo, who steered home.

Oviedo gave away a poor second goal after 57 minutes, with Raphinha running on to an undercooked back-pass from David Costas and lofting the ball over Escandell.

Barcelona’s third was expertly taken by Yamal, as Olmo’s cross was falling behind him he produced an eye-catching sideways scissor-kick to wrap up the victory.

A huge downpour hit the stadium, sending fans scurrying as there is no roof added yet, and those who remained saw Escandell deny Robert Lewandowski a potential fourth with a fine save.

Earlier on Sunday, Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 victory over relegation-threatened Mallorca, with Alexander Sorloth, an own goal by David Lopez and a strike from substitute Thiago Almada ensuring Diego Simeone’s side leapfrogged Villarreal into third place in the standings.Atletico moved on to 44 points, three ahead of Villarreal.

 

Mbappe at the double

On Saturday, Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal.

La Liga’s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Real see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.

Arbeloa’s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season.

After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa’s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his side have started to take shape.

The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar Mbappe, who has netted 34 times across all competitions.

Mbappe and Vinicius Jr “are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,” Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV.

“They’re two players who... I’m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing.

“They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they’re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I’m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.”

Vinicius is still struggling goal scoring touch as the 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without getting on the score sheet, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half.

“They are a nightmare for defences,” said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. “I hope they can keep bringing joy.”

Villarreal are now 10 points behind Real, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa’s side.

“We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,” admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro.

Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia that left them seven points behind Villarreal.