Oviedo more than held their own during the opening moments of this game, with LaLiga’s basement boys having more of the ball and better chances than their more illustrious opponents with 15 minutes gone.
Indeed, Barça were indebted to Eric García on more than one occasion at the back, whilst their front three of Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal appeared very jaded indeed.
With half an hour gone the status quo hadn’t changed, and thanks to the industry of Ilyas Chaira and David Costas in particular, the hosts were often second-best to any loose balls.
The Camp Nou faithful certainly made their feelings known but it changed nothing. The nearest anyone came to taking the lead before half time was in stoppage time when Raphinha’s volley was well saved by Aarón Escandell.
Barça’s urgency directly after the break was in stark contrast to their first-half showing, though that didn’t faze their opponents, who continued on the front foot. Oviedo could do nothing when Dani Olmo’s daisy cutter found the far corner on 52 minutes, however.
Within five minutes, Raphinha took full advantage of Costas’ poor back pass and chipped Escandell from the edge of the area, before Lamine Yamal’s stunning scissor kick from Olmo’s cross had the stadium on its feet, and ended the game as a contest with 15 minutes to play.
The result means that Barça head back to the top of the Spanish top-flight, with Oviedo now having lost eight of their last 10 H2H matches at Camp Nou (D1, W1) against the Catalan giants.