Aaron Escandell, Oviedo goalkeeper / EFE
Real Oviedo has officially become a Segunda División team. Girona’s draw at Vallecas on Monday confirmed the carbayón side’s relegation, sending them back to LaLiga Hypermotion just one year after earning promotion.
The return to the top flight ends in the worst possible way for a team that never found consistency. With three matchdays remaining, they have no mathematical chance of survival.
Oviedo – Getafe. / EFE
The blue team sits at the bottom with 29 points after 35 games, boasting a record of 6 wins, 11 draws, and 18 losses, along with 26 goals scored and 54 conceded. Even winning all three remaining fixtures wouldn’t keep them up.
A goalless draw with Getafe at Carlos Tartiere left Oviedo on the brink, and Girona’s result sealed a fall that had seemed inevitable for weeks. The relegation ends a campaign marked by difficulties from the start. Oviedo never escaped the lower half, paying the price for defensive fragility and offensive struggles. The team stayed alive in the final stretch thanks to isolated bursts, but the draw with Getafe was seen inside the dressing room as a near-final sentence.
Cazorla, yesterday, thanking the Tartiere stands for chants asking him to stay. / Miki López
After the match, Aarón Escandell vented his frustration and harshly criticized the officiating the team endured. “They didn’t want us to win. I don’t know what we did to them, they don’t want us down there. It was shameful,” said the goalkeeper, visibly angry after the red cards for Javi López and Sibo. Guillermo Almada also hinted at criticism of the refereeing standards, claiming Oviedo had been “harmed in very important situations” throughout the season.
Dani Calvo was more self-critical. The center-back and one of the captains admitted the team’s level “has been extremely low” and refused to hide solely behind referee decisions. “The situation is difficult, almost impossible. Today is practically the final point,” he explained after the Getafe match. The defender also highlighted Santi Cazorla’s role, whose involvement diminished as the months passed. “I don’t understand why Santi played so little because he’s a great player. Much more could have been gotten out of him,” he lamented.
Oviedo’s stint in the top flight was turbulent. From a poor start under Paunovic, the Grupo Pachuca management decided to bring back Luis Carrión, who also failed to click. By December, Oviedo signed their third coach of the season in less than half a campaign: Guillermo Almada. However, the Uruguayan coach didn’t significantly improve the team’s dynamics, delaying the inevitable collapse but ultimately confirming it.
Now, Oviedo have three matches left—Real Madrid at the Bernabéu, Alavés at the Tartiere, and Mallorca at Son Moix—before closing a season to forget and starting to prepare a new project in the Segunda División.
