Three takeaways from Real Oviedo 1-3 Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona took all three points in a complicated outing against Real Oviedo last night as they were pushed to their limits quite unexpectedly.

Hansi Flick rotated his troops effectively, but not many expected Real Oviedo to give them a run for their money as they did. Joan Garcia’s mistake went on to even hand the hosts an advantage and complicate matters for the Catalans.

A second-half comeback pioneered by Eric Garcia, Robert Lewandowski and Ronald Araujo eventually secured all three points for Barcelona, helping close a massive result in terms of the league standings.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Oviedo 1-3 Barcelona.

Joan Garcia’s error

Barcelona’s new signing Joan Garcia has been in tremendous form for the club this season, and his integration into the dynamics could not have been more seamless.

The player has slotted into Flick and Barcelona’s style better than anyone could have hoped for on multiple fronts, and there have already been shouts that he could be one of the greatest goalkeepers in the club’s history if he can develop and stay consistent.

Garcia’s shot-stopping has always been elite, and his reflexes only appear to have gotten faster for Barcelona. His distribution, however, is what surprised many, especially his ability to effectively sweep from the back and even make runs out of the box at the right moments.

So far, the player’s time at the club has been spotless, but last night saw him commit his first major error as he overestimated his ability to sweep. In the 33rd minute, he pushed out of his box to intercept and clear the ball and immediately began to make his way back to goal.

He had, however, moved so far out that he required ample time to get back, and Alberto Reina capitalised on that very gap to shoot from distance and net into an open goal.

The goal conceded, thus, was entirely Garcia’s fault and avoidable, but one can give him a pass, considering he is still on the learning curve. After all, he more than made up for it with massive saves in the second half.

Substitutes make the impact

Impactful. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

With Barcelona 1-0 down at half-time, Flick immediately turned to the starter he had benched on the night – Frenkie de Jong. The idea was to provide more stability and control in midfield, and Marc Casado was sacrificed to bring the Dutchman on.

De Jong, as expected, instantly improved Barcelona’s stability in the department as the ball circulation improved significantly, and Real Oviedo saw much less of the ball in midfield. The equaliser, unsurprisingly, soon followed with the team looking far more in control.

Just past the hour mark, Robert Lewandowski was called on by the manager, given the game situation and the need for instant impact in attack. Ferran Torres, after all, was struggling in front of goal and quite clearly suffocating in the tight defensive lines.

Lewandowski has the instant impact, as he found the back of the net to hand Barcelona the lead just five minutes after coming on, scoring a stunning header. The assist, unsurprisingly, came from none other than De Jong.

Flick’s changes at half-time, thus, dictated the result on the night and not for the first time, as he has shown several times in the past, to know exactly when to pull which of his resources off the bench. The manager, thus, deserves great praise.

Rashford’s hot form continues

Marcus Rashford was always expected to take his time adapting to Barcelona, especially given that he was arriving in a new league to a team that played a completely different style of football to what he was accustomed to.

The player’s initial adaptation, as expected, was slow, and he struggled to make the impact expected of him coming off the bench. The game vs Newcastle United, however, was the major turning point as he scored a stunning brace to help Barcelona to a key win.

Playing 45 minutes against Getafe, the player did well but could not get a goal contribution. Last night, he earned the assist to Araujo’s late goal, racking up his second assist of the league season.

Rashford may not have been at his very best on the night, and statistics may call for a poor rating. The impact he had, however, was far beyond the numbers.

The new signing and Raphinha were Barcelona’s only pioneers in attack, with Rashford even looking constantly to shoot from distance and threaten the hosts’ goal. In fact, he could well have had a brace to his name had Aaron Escandell not pulled off some unbelievable saves.

Rashford will indeed find it more complicated to see minutes once Lamine Yamal is back from his injury, but it is clear that he has done enough to show the manager that he can be an ideal replacement or backup option to count on.

In fact, recent performances may even have done enough for him to earn a starting role as a rotational player with more regularity.