Lamine Yamal’s stunning bicycle kick sends Barcelona back to the top

After Real Madrid’s 2-0 win over Villarreal a day earlier, Barcelona were under pressure to respond and secure all three points to stay ahead in the title race. For the match, Hansi Flick made several changes to his starting XI, with João Cancelo coming in for Jules Koundé, Marc Casadó replacing Pedri, and Gerard Martín starting at left-back.

Despite their league position, Oviedo started brightly and put Barcelona under early pressure, forcing Joan García into two important saves in the opening minutes. Barcelona gradually grew into the game and created several dangerous attacks, but Robert Lewandowski was unable to find the net. The first half ended goalless, with Koundé introduced at the break to replace Gerard Martín.

Barcelona broke the deadlock just five minutes into the second half. Lamine Yamal led the press, forcing Oviedo into a mistake, and Dani Olmo capitalised to score the opening goal. In the 57th minute, Raphinha doubled the lead after dispossessing an Oviedo defender and finishing confidently.

The highlight of the night came in the 72nd minute, when Yamal capped off his performance with a spectacular bicycle kick from Olmo’s cross. The 18-year-old celebrated with Cristiano Ronaldo’s trademark pose while sitting on the advertising boards. That goal sealed a convincing 3-0 win, sending Barcelona back to the top of the table, one point clear of Real Madrid.

After the match, Flick said he was satisfied with the result and praised several individual performances. “I’m satisfied with the team, especially in the second half. The first half was harder for us. Overall, we’ve had a big workload of matches and I don’t like to make excuses, but today, at the start, it was tough for us.”

“Olmo has improved a lot in recent matches. He’s capable of scoring goals, providing assists and controlling the ball. That’s very important,” Flick added. “Eric is at an extremely high level. Wherever he plays, he performs well, and I’m very happy about that. He feels comfortable in the role of leader; he’s an important player.”

Barcelona will next host Copenhagen in their final Champions League league-phase match on 29 January at 3 AM (GMT+7), before returning to La Liga action against Elche on 1 February.