Lamine Yamal scored with an acrobatic volley as Barcelona defeated bottom-placed Oviedo 3-0 on Sunday to regain top spot in the Spanish league.
In the second half, Dani Olmo and Rafinha also scored goals, taking advantage of mistakes made by the Oviedo defenders.
Yamal scored in the 73rd minute with a bicycle kick from near the penalty spot. Yamal quickly sent Olmo’s cross into the far corner with his left foot.
It was Yamal’s first league goal of the year and his eighth in La Liga this season.
When he was substituted in the 79th minute, he received a huge ovation from the home crowd.
The win puts Barcelona one point ahead of Real Madrid, who beat Villarreal 2-0 on Saturday.
“In the first half we didn’t play our best, but in the second half we found our way and were able to score goals,” Rafinha said.
Sunday’s match ended in hailstorm in Barcelona.
Olmo took the lead in the 52nd minute with a low shot after the Oviedo defense failed to clear the ball completely inside the area.
Oviedo defender David Kostas tried to give the ball back to goalkeeper Arn Eskander, but he came up short, and Rafinha added to the lead five minutes later. Rafinha came in to intercept the pass and skipped the ball over Eskander.
Barcelona lost 2-1 to Real Sociedad in their previous league match, ending their winning streak in all competitions at 11.
Oviedo, who are at the bottom of the rankings, have not won in 14 games in a row. Their last victory was a 2-1 win against Valencia in September.
Atlético are back in 3rd place
Atletico Madrid defeated Mallorca 3-0 and returned to third place.
This is the first time in six games this year that Atlético have scored one or more goals.
With the win, Diego Simeone’s side now have a three-point lead over Villarreal, who still have a game in hand.
Alexander Soros put the hosts ahead in the 22nd minute with his fourth goal of the season.
Atlético’s second goal came in the 75th minute, an unlucky own goal from Mallorca defender David Lupez. Teammate Mateu Morey tried to clear a cross inside the area, but the shot bounced off Lupez’s face and into the net.
Midfielder Thiago Almada scored 87 to give Atlético their second consecutive league win.
Mallorca, who are 16th in the table, have only won one of their last five league games, a 3-2 win against Athletic Bilbao last weekend. This losing streak has resulted in 3 losses and 1 draw.
A moment of silence was observed before kick-off at all matches this weekend in honor of the victims of two train crashes in Spain this week.
