Barcelona buckled once again under pressure as they threw away a comfortable lead to draw 2-2 with Celta Vigo.
The Catalan leaders, previously considered impenetrable in the opening months of the 2024/25 campaign, have struggled to impress in recent games with teenage sensation Lamine Yamal missing through injury.
They are still sitting on it The League classification after Saturday’s draw, but they are starting to give Real Madrid a lifeline in the title race.
How the game developed
Celta Vigo were undoubtedly the stronger team in the opening moments of Saturday evening’s La Liga clash, but failed to capitalize on the early chances. Barça took time to grow into the game and were lucky to escape unscathed from Celta’s immediate press.
But it didn’t take long for the in-form Raphinha to fire the visitors ahead. In what was Barça’s first shot on goal of the game, the Brazilian cut through the home side’s back line to find the back of the net.
A brilliant ball from Jules Kounde found Raphinha in the perfect position, allowing the winger to give his side an early lead.
Controversy erupted just before the break when a rash challenge from Gerard Martin left Iago Aspas in pain on the canvas. The Celta captain protested strongly when Martin, who had already been booked before the match, was not sent off.
When play resumed, Aspas entered the pitch shaking his head in anger, while Martin was substituted and replaced by Hector Fort to avoid further damage.
Shortly after the hour mark, Barça’s faithful savior Robert Lewandowski stepped in to double his team’s lead. The prolific Pole scored his 15th goal of the season, making the most of Celta’s defence.
As the fans prepared to celebrate their comfortable victory, Barcelona’s Marc Casado decided to shake things up when he was shown a second yellow card and subsequently withdrawn from the game. The home side immediately chased the line and found the back of the net, but it was quickly ruled offside.
But with Barca down to ten men, a big error from Kounde proved costly for the Catalan giants when Alfon Gonzales flicked a ball past Inaki Pena. Casado’s red card took seconds to wreak havoc on the visitors, instantly eroding their once strong lead.
Things soon went from bad to worse when Hugo Álvarez doubled Celta’s lead just before 90 minutes.
It was clear that the disadvantage of having ten men on the pitch was too much for Barça, who were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at full-time in a game they should have won.
*Player ratings provided by FotMob*
GK: painting – 8.1/10 – Made four smart saves and kept Celta out of the game in the first half, even when their pressure threatened goals. Couldn’t do much when Celta scored.
RB: Jules Kounde – 6.9/10 – His early assist was quickly canceled out when his wasteful defending allowed Celta to equalise.
CB: Pau Cubarsi – 6.7/10 – Cubarsi made some excellent passes and was composed on the ball. A mature performance from the 17-year-old.
CB: Inigo Martinez – 6.8/10 – He was often caught making wrong passes and struggled to impress on the ball.
LB: Gerard Martin – 6.6/10 – He struggled to make an impact in the game and was lucky not to have seen a red card.
DM: Marc Casado – 6.2/10 – He completed some useful passes but struggled to help his team in defence.
DM: Peter – 7.0/10 – He provided some chances in the final third and made a number of incisive passes.
RW: Raphinha – 8.4/10 – He scored a lovely opening goal and continued to provide an immense threat up front. He was eventually let down by his peers.
AM: Dani Olmo – 7.1/10 – He drifted to the left and looked sloppy on the ball at times. He didn’t make the necessary runs.
LW: Gavi – 7.2/10 – One of the more impressive forwards, he covered a lot of ground and worked hard in transition.
ST: Robert Lewandowski – 7.7/10 – He was among the goals again and produced an impressive strike before being ruled offside.
Substitutes
SUB: Hector Fort (46′ for Martin) – 7.3/10
SUB: Fermín López (75′ Pedri) – 6.2/10
SUB: Frenkie de Jong (76′ for Gavi) – 6.1/10
SUB: Pau Torre (89′ for Olmo) – N/A
SUB: Pau Victor (90′ for Lewandowski) – N/A
Subs not used: Guillermo Fernandez, Sergi Domínguez, Diego Kochen, Wojciech Szczesny, Alex Balde, Álvaro Cortes, Noah Darvich.
manager
Hansi Flick – 4/10 – You have to find a way to win without Yamal on the roster. He made some late changes that proved costly as Barca began to lose their lead.
