Barcelona traveled to Balaídos with a chance to make up ground after Madrid’s draw against Vallecano, and they delivered. A 2-4 win over Celta brings Barça to 28 points, closing the gap to 3 points behind Madrid before the international break.
During warm-up, Marc Casadó felt discomfort and Dani Olmo stepped into the eleven at the last moment. Jules Koundé travelled with the team despite feeling some discomfort, but he did not have to play, Eric García wore a protective mask from his nose injury and played on the right. Pau Cubarsí lined up with Ronald Araújo in the middle. The rest of the starters were Szczęsny in goal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López in midfield with Olmo, and a front three of Marcus Rashford, Robert Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal.
Celta started with Radu, Mingueza, Manu Fernández, Starfelt, Marcos Alonso, Carreira, Hugo Sotelo, Ilaix Moriba, Jutglà, Borja Iglesias, and Pablo Durán.
Lewandowski’s hat trick
Barcelona opened the scoring from the penalty spot after a handball confirmed on review. Lewandowski placed the kick low to the keeper’s left, and it was nearly kept out.
Celta replied almost immediately, breaking Barça’s high line after a turnover. The attacker drove toward the far-right post and curled it across Szczęsny.
In the thirty seventh minute, Rashford bent a cross into the space behind the center backs for Lewandowski to finish his second. Just before halftime, Rashford attacked from the left again; his cross deflected off Ilaix and fell for Lamine, who finished at the far post to make it 2-3 at the break. That makes it three straight scoring matches for our number ten, bringing his season tally to six goals and six assists in eleven appearances across LaLiga and the Champions League.
Celta pushed after the break, but Barça were the better team in the second half. With a quarter of an hour to play, Rashford’s corner found Lewandowski darting to the near post. The striker somehow managed to find the header to score his hattrick.
Individual player performance
- Szczęsny stayed alert through Celta’s counters and positioned well. There was debate over whether he could have saved their first goal, but in the end a 1v1 is always difficult, especially for a keeper behind a high line.
- Eric García handled his flank with authority, linked with Lamine even if not always perfectly, and did well as a replacement for Jules Koundé.
- Cubarsí, despite an early booking, kept his nerve, read transitions well, and stepped in front at key moments.
- Balde offered depth on the left, linking up with Rashford to create runs the entire game.
- De Jong dropped to build as a third defender, then tightened the middle after the break.
- Lamine pressed high, recovered dangerous balls, and scored an important goal before half time.
- Rashford steadied after an uneven start, tightened the press, and delivered three assist crosses: two finished by Lewandowski and one met by Lamine at the far post.
De Jong’s red card
In the ninety-fourth minute, De Jong received a second yellow after light contact with Iago Aspas as both challenged for a loose ball. The decision was met with skepticism, and the team finished with five bookings. The suspension means he will miss the game against Bilbao. The hope now is that Pedri receives the medical green light in time, otherwise the team could face a major problem.
Post-match interview
Lewandowski
- “Yes, we’re very happy to win a game here 2-4. It’s always difficult for us to play in Vigo, but the most important thing is that we won and we’re now two (three) points behind Real Madrid.”
- “The fourth goal was very important in allowing us to play with more patience and composure.”
Claudio Giráldez
- “Handballs are really bad luck because it’s not a dangerous action… They’re very gray areas, we’ve had a run of bad luck.”
- “They were better, it wasn’t up to the referee.”
Hansi Flick
- “In the first half we were very good with the ball, and in the second half the team knew how to control the game.”
- “We’re on the right track in La Liga and the Champions League. Not everything is perfect, but we’re on the right track.”
