Barça avoids falling into Oviedo's trap and regains the lead

BarcelonaIt's not easy playing for Barça. The team is always expected to win and dazzle. You always have to win, and you can never afford to slip up. You have a bad day, like we all do, and within hours half the world is criticizing you. It's not easy defending Barça when your opponent is a Real Madrid side that, in theory, is in crisis, but on Saturday night was top of the league. They've always had nine lives in Madrid. And that's how they put pressure on a Barça team that managed to overcome the return of an old acquaintance, Oviedo, at the Camp Nou, with a strong second half. Three goals, three points, and first place in the bag. A match that at times was difficult to digest ended with a standing ovation for Lamine, who scored one of his trademark goals, a perfectly executed finish.

Sometimes Barça creates numerous attacking opportunities and loses, as happened in San Sebastián, and other times they take all three points despite putting on a lackluster performance. The first half was particularly dreadful, but two errors by the Asturians in the second half changed everything. When Dani Olmo scored the first goal, the opposing defense began to crack, and Barça started to approach their best form. Not by much, but they improved enough to avoid suffering until the final whistle. Olmo's goal was a release. One of those plays where, once the ball hits the back of the net, everyone feels a weight lifted off their shoulders. It was the turning point in a match that ended in a resounding victory.

But first, there was some hard work to be done. Barça was returning to the Camp Nou after a long time. After weeks of vacation, travel, a Super Cup victory, and the calling of elections. A strange return, with a kickoff time that invited a siesta and a pleasant sun that didn't hide the fact that the cold would arrive, cruelly, towards the end of the match. Cold days, like the game itself. Most Barça fans expected a routine match against the bottom-placed team, but that's precisely the beauty of football: it always ends up surprising us. Sometimes the surprises make you smile, and other times, they leave you looking foolish. And the Asturians, a team whose firepower has been lacking and who usually end up losing matches, found a way to turn the game into a lackluster spectacle, where little happened, beyond Oviedo's well-calculated fouls, which were somewhat lenient with the referee.

It was supposed to be an easy afternoon of football to reclaim first place, but the minutes ticked by agonizingly. At halftime, frustratingly, Arbeloa's Real Madrid remained in first position. Barça played with such discomfort, as if stones had been placed in the boots of players who were slow, angry, and lacked accuracy. Pedri's spark was missing, a player who is always missed. The Canary Islander watched from a stand that offered no encouragement. No chants of independence or pleas for Messi. Every now and then, someone called for the supporters' section, hoping they would do precisely what the rest of the stadium wasn't: cheer. Neither the crowd nor the surprisingly imprecise and disjointed team were encouraging. It wasn't the best version of Flick's team, who had placed Gerard Martin at center back and the returning Joao Cancelo on the right wing. The Portuguese player was ineffective. A lackluster return. In midfield, Marc Casadó was running up and down the pitch, all heart, aware that he needed to seize his opportunities, but the circumstances weren't in his favor. Neither was his support, with a lackluster De Jong. No Barça player seemed to be having a good day. They all looked like the generic versions of those players who usually captivate.

Lamine's magical moment

The result was a match to forget, with a very disciplined Oviedo side that managed to stay alive through sheer merit. They had a plan. Not spectacular, but a plan that frustrated a Barça team where Lamine Yamal occasionally managed to create something. Flick, who looked less than pleased, made a change at halftime, bringing on Koundé. And the team, without improving much, at least shifted the center of play closer to the Asturian penalty area. They wanted to see if Oviedo, playing with fire because the specter of relegation haunts them, could withstand the pressure. And no, they couldn't. Two defensive errors allowed Barça to recover the ball in the opposition's area. First, Olmo scored the opener with a low, driven shot across goal, and then Raphinha, who was having an off day, found himself one-on-one with Escandell and beat him with a beautiful chip. Job done. The game was already slowing down.

With the second goal, Oviedo surrendered. All their effort had been for nothing, and Lamine Yamal took advantage, conjuring up a beautiful volley. A match as uncomfortable as a toothache gradually transformed into a celebration, with spaces opening up that Lamine Yamal exploited to score a lovely goal as the rain began to fall, emptying the still-uncovered stands. Another victory for Barça, who return to the top of the table, solid and confident, and who managed to keep the final minutes calm, while Cancelo was substituted, which caused a certain indifference. The visit from Oviedo could have been one of those traps that gets you hurt, against the bottom-placed team and when everyone assumed a win was a foregone conclusion. They had to win. And they did.