The good, bad and beautiful: Oviedo bells + Nico Williams’ disguise

A round-up of some of La Liga’s most intriguing storylines across the week, traversing through the good, the bad and something beautiful.

The Good: Ring the bells, this is not a drill – Real Oviedo win!

Ring the bells, set off the fireworks, this is not a drill; Real Oviedo have won again. Any Oviedo fan is willing to acknowledge there is good reason that their victory did not fit in the beautiful section, and indeed goalscorer Ilyas Chaira was quick to say that Girona had played better than them in his post-match interview. Yet when Santi Cazorla smiles, it’s impossible to begrudge this side anything.

You do not play finals, you win them. And given manager Guillermo Almada had declared this matchday 22 home fixture a ‘World Cup final’ for Oviedo, they rose to the call. “Playing well, mediocre or badly, we had to win,”  said Almada after the fact. The 40-year-old Cazorla started off the move that four passes later would end in Chaira’s winner, a first win in four months, and 14 matchdays.

🎯 Un 𝑔𝑜𝑙 que significa…

✅ 𝐆𝐀𝐍𝐀𝐑
🫡 𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄𝐑
🫵🏻 𝐈𝐑 𝐂𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐎𝐃𝐎 𝐀 𝐕𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐄𝐂𝐀𝐒#LALIGAHighlights#RealOviedo 🔵⚪ pic.twitter.com/tbdWu1EIap

— Real Oviedo (@RealOviedo) February 4, 2026

Levante’s rather astounding revival and the bubbling cauldron of the relegation battle, absorbing a new team into its molten embrace every week, means Oviedo’s improvement is not represented in the Liga table. Los Carbayones remain bottom, seven points from safety. Almada’s side have lost just twice since the Uruguayan took over, once to Barcelona, and once in stoppage time to Osasuna. Outside of those games, they have conceded just twice in four games, and drew with Celta Vigo, Alaves and Real Betis.

It is probably too late, and Almada did not receive the gift every bottom-half side in La Liga desires so strongly: a clinical goalscorer. But it keeps the door of hope open a little longer. And if they can get back into the fight, they’re in it with half of the league.

The Bad: Atletico Madrid flatline, not for the first time

After a defeat to Bodo/Glimt that shook even the faith of even the most ardent Cholistas, Atletico Madrid responded with a swashbuckling… 0-0 draw away to Levante. As mentioned, this Granota side are proving to be made of tough stuff, but they didn’t need to dig deep for their draw either. Levante outshot Atletico (9-8), and what chances Los Colchoneros mustered were from set pieces. Any bullying to be done was committed by Levante, and the save of the match came from Jan Oblak.

“I’m not stupid, or at least I don’t think I am,” Diego Simeone commented when asked about his removal of Pablo Barrios against Glimt in favour of Robin Le Normand, a change that brought about rare whistles from the fiercely loyal Metropolitano crowd. Which is why Atletico’s performance against Levante must have made the two-hour trip back from Valencia feel much longer – Simeone’s side looked soul-less.

El Cholo may have valid complaints about the resources at his disposal, but they don’t hold against Bodo/Glimt or Levante – the speed and excitement that Ademola Lookman could inject into Atletico have arrived just in time. If his side can’t provide the results that will keep critics off his back, then the fanbase require a positive trajectory to cling to. The last truly positive performance came against Inter in November. Atletico face Real Betis in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on Thursday, and since their win at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid in 2013, making a statement in Seville has never looked more important.

🇳🇬✨ Ademola Lookman: “Thursday’s game against Real Betis? I’ll be ready.” pic.twitter.com/fy8ugQ5Nga

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) February 3, 2026

The Beautiful: Nico Williams, even just for a play

The cold mists of the Basque winter can normally be kept away by the comfort of a crackling fire, and San Mames is arguably the biggest one in Bilbao. Yet their dream return to the Champions League ended officially last Wednesday, and has left the fizzling embers of this Ernesto Valverde cycle fighting a losing battle. Athletic, hampered by injuries to star players, starting with Nico Williams, and short of their usual vivaciousness, seem lost in a bleak outlook. This week President Jon Uriarte declared his side’s main objective for the remainder of the season was survival, a concern not raised since before Valverde’s first spell.

It is at times like those, that heroes, leadership and fibre are required to rescue the morale of a team. Athletic Club were sinking to loss in the Basque derby at San Mames for the first time in six years, and a deserved one. The younger Williams, off with more injury concern, the elder, off the bench, still off his game. Los Leones threw what they had at La Real, but even down to ten men, the Txuri-Urdin exuded confidence in their ability to bat away Athletic’s attacks, exemplified by Jon Aramburu’s impressive showing at right-back.

🎩 Maravilla, Galaxy 🪄

🤤 ¡𝗚𝗼𝗹𝗮𝘇𝗼 de Ruiz de Galarreta! #AthleticRealSociedad #AthleticClub 🦁 pic.twitter.com/qxRvesw4TB

— Athletic Club (@AthleticClub) February 3, 2026

In light of that, Inigo Ruiz de Galarreta deserves all the more credit for stepping up in the 88th minute. Receiving in the Nico Williams position, the 32-year-old jinked past first Wesley, then outfoxed the bristling Aramburu. Gliding inside Carlos Soler, his finish was dream-perfect. A ball-playing midfielder, Ruiz de Galarreta relies on his passing and reading of the game to make an impact from the centre of the pitch, an area he rarely leaves. But in that moment, he saw his side needed the Nico Williams of last season, and dared to be him, just for one play.