Madrid, Jan. 27: Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga with a 3-0 win over Real Oviedo on Sunday, thanks to goals from Dani Olmo, Raphinha and an acrobatic Lamine Yamal effort.

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 teenager star 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."

Barca could not get out of first gear in a dry first half and their passing was unusually imprecise.

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 lobbing home.

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.

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.

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.

Elsewhere Real Betis and Celta Vigo suffered setbacks in their hopes for European football next season.

Sixth-placed Betis fell to a 2-1 defeat at Alaves, who rose to 15th, while Celta, seventh, were beaten 3-1 at Real Sociedad. (AFP)