Barca fight back to beat Oviedo 3-1 after early scare

Barcelona came from behind to beat Real Oviedo 3-1 in their first league meeting for 24 years, though the scoreline hardly tells the full story after the newly promoted hosts gave the champions a proper scare at Carlos Tartiere.

Oviedo, with just one goal in five games going in, started like a side desperate to make a statement. They rattled into tackles, forced four corners in the opening 10 minutes and had the home crowd roaring them on. Barça kept the ball, of course, but were sloppy at times and looked nervy when pressed. Rashford twice tested Aarón Escandell, who was outstanding all night, but Oviedo’s gamble paid off on the half hour when keeper Joan García came flying out and got caught in no man’s land. Alberto Reina spotted him stranded and looped in a beauty from all of 40 yards. Cue bedlam – Oviedo’s second goal in six matches, and against the champs no less.

The second half carried on in the same vein. Haissem Hassan nearly doubled the lead with a stinging drive, García this time bailing himself out with a strong stop. Oviedo were sharper and stronger in the duels, embarrassing Barça at times. But the champions still have match-winners everywhere, and when Araújo of all people popped up wide left, chaos followed in the box. Eric García snuck round the back to poke home an equaliser on 55 and suddenly the momentum shifted.

Flick threw on Lewandowski and within 15 minutes the Pole did what he does best – thumping in a bullet header to silence the stadium. Oviedo tired after that, leaving gaps for Barça’s big hitters to exploit. Lewandowski nearly added another from an impossible angle, while Raphinha clipped the bar earlier.

There was still a bit of late anxiety as the visitors lost their rhythm again and gifted Oviedo a few hopeful forays, but the comeback was complete two minutes from the end when Araújo rose highest to crash home a header and kill off the contest.

It’s harsh on Oviedo, who left everything out there, but the difference in class told in the end. For Barcelona it’s seven straight wins in Thursday LaLiga fixtures and a dozen goals in their last three league outings, with Flick’s side already looking ominously hard to stop.