The Japan Times - Barca top La Liga as Yamal hits stunner, Atletico triumph

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

Earlier Atletico Madrid eased to a 3-0 win over Mallorca to strengthen their position in third and move eight points behind Barca.

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.

"We have game after game, a lot of travel, we came back late at night (from Prague in midweek), almost no days off, and that's what you also have to see," Flick told reporters, defending his players after they struggled to make inroads in the first half.

"In the first half we struggled a little bit, we didn't have the confidence we normally need... but in the end the second half was much better."

The coach praised Yamal for his hard work in terms of pressing and said it was even more crucial than his impressive strike.

"For me, much more important was the first goal, how he pressed, that he recovered the ball, that we scored the first goal because that was the key to open this game for us and get the three points," explained Flick.

"It was more important than the third goal but everyone loves to see this in football and I'm happy he scored such a (great) goal."

Barca could not get out of first gear 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.

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

After Yamal and Raphinha pressed 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 Oviedo goalkeeper Aaron 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 yet, and those who remained saw Escandell deny Robert Lewandowski a potential fourth with a fine save.

- Atletico cruise -

Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid capitalised on Villarreal's loss with a solid home victory to go three points clear of the Yellow Submarine.

Alexander Sorloth and Thiago Almada struck for the hosts, either side of a David Lopez own goal at the Metropolitano stadium.

The hosts took the lead after 22 minutes when Marcos Llorente walloped the ball towards goal, with Roman saving well but unable to keep the ball from falling to Sorloth to tap home.

It was the Norwegian target man's third goal in his last three league games and his seventh of the season, equalling Julian Alvarez as the team's top goalscorer in the competition.

Alvarez failed to score for a ninth consecutive game, although his coach said the Argentina international played well and will be key in the months ahead.

"We have to be calm and know (Alvarez) is a player who can make the difference," said Simeone.

"If we want to go some place important this season we need him at 100 percent, because he's one of the best players we have in the squad."

Midway through the second half Atletico doubled their advantage when an attempted clearance from Llorente's cross comically deflected off Lopez into his own net.

Almada wrapped up the win late on when an Atletico corner came through to him and he found some space in the box before firing home.

H.Takahashi--JT