Barcelona vs Celta Vigo Review
Barcelona came back from two goals down to defeat Celta Vigo 4-3 in Catalonia, ending Celta’s four-match unbeaten streak in away games. Although Barcelona had struggled against Celta recently, including a 2-2 draw earlier in the season after leading by two goals, their strong head-to-head and overall home performance seemed to ease any concerns for Hansi Flick. Robert Lewandowski and Iñigo Martínez both came close to scoring before Ferran Torres took the initiative to evade Marcos Alonso and score with a right-footed shot into the far corner.
However, just three minutes later, Celta capitalized on a counterattack, as a cross from Pablo Durán was misjudged by the advancing Wojciech Szczęsny, allowing Borja Iglesias to tap it into the empty net. Barça’s performance was not very convincing, with Lewandowski and Raphinha’s attempts not being much better. Celta also had their opportunities, including a moment when Ilaix Moriba and Iker Losada forced Szczęsny into a double save. Despite Claudio Giráldez making changes for the second half, the visitors remained a threat and surprisingly took the lead.
Frenkie de Jong failed to intercept Yoel Lago’s long ball, allowing Iglesias to break free and score an unstoppable shot into the bottom-left corner. Szczęsny managed to deny Iglesias a third goal shortly after, but the defense faltered again, and Iglesias raced away to flick the ball past the Polish goalkeeper for his hat-trick. However, the league’s top scorers quickly responded, leveling the match with two quick goals. Raphinha first assisted Dani Olmo, who finished across the goal, and then Raphinha scored himself with a header from Lamine Yamal’s cross.
Opportunities arose for both teams, but it wasn’t until the last minute of stoppage time that a thrilling goal was scored. Lago fouled Olmo in the penalty area, and after a VAR check, Raphinha converted the penalty against Vicente Guaita. As a result, Barcelona maintains their lead over Real Madrid with a challenging schedule ahead, including the La Liga El Clásico in May, while Celta needs to start winning again to secure a spot in European competition for the first time since the 2016/17 season.
