Barcelona secured a dramatic 4-3 victory over Celta Vigo in a thrilling LaLiga match that showcased the resilience of both teams. The match played out at Celta’s Estadio Abanca-Balaídos. The visitors came back from two goals down and snatched the win with one of the latest penalties ever scored. This impressive victory now leaves Barcelona right in the mix at the top end of the league. Conversely, Celta Vigo remains seventh with 43 points.
The day’s match developed quickly and with all-around aggression as Celta Vigo took an early lead. Following a sublime cross from Pablo Duran, Borja Iglesias capitalized on a misjudgment from Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who sprinted off his line but failed to collect the ball. An acrobatic Iglesias made sure that was the case as he tapped it into an empty net, putting Celta 1-0 up.
A Hat-Trick Performance from Iglesias
Borja Iglesias had been a nuisance to Barcelona all match long. After scoring the opening goal, he doubled Celta’s advantage by taking advantage of Barcelona’s high defensive line. Just a minute later, Iglesias sprinted through on goal and found the back of the net again, completing his hat trick. He found his hat-trick goal not long after this, bringing the game level to 3-3 just before the game headed into a wild finish.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling because we did a lot of things right,” – Pablo Duran
Duran said he was proud of the energy and urgency his team showed, but clearly unhappy with the result. He said, “We must be very disappointed in ourselves for coming here and showing a lot of character while playing our football. For the large parts of the game we were better than they were, but that makes the result even worse and gives us a sour taste.
Barcelona’s Late Surge
Barcelona would not let up, though, as they made their intentions clear in looking to take back control of the contest. Ferran Torres broke his level and poise as he coasted in on goal. Just after the hour mark, with one of his trademark booming long-range efforts, he scored past Celta de Vigo’s Vicente Guaita. It was Torres’ 10th league goal of the season and pulled Barcelona right back into the race.
With the clock running down, Dani Olmo was the biggest difference maker. He won a very important penalty just minutes into added time after entering the match as a sub. Raphinha stepped up to take the penalty and confidently converted it into the net, sealing three vital points for Barcelona.
“This is football. We wanted to win this game, but we weren’t always at our best,” – Dani Olmo
Olmo was particularly disappointed with the second-half performance but stressed how much better they must be in their final two group-stage matches.
Key Contributions from Raphinha and Lewandowski
Raphinha starred, scoring the winning penalty. He made history with a major milestone of his own, netting his 30th goal in all competitions this season. His link-up play with Robert Lewandowski became crucial to their success. Jointly, they combined flawlessly to position Olmo for a dynamic start to the match.
The recent battle between Barcelona and Celta Vigo showed both sides at their best and their worst. Though Celta stamped their mark on the match with their attacking abilities, spearheaded by Iglesias, Barça put on display their unwillingness to go down quietly.
