Barcelona will head into the final international break of the season in second place in the La Liga standings and are now just three points behind the leaders thanks to a hard-fought 4-2 win over Celta
Vigo on a rainy Sunday night at Balaídos. After a wild and chaotic first half with five goals and loads of chances for both sides, the Blaugrana took complete control in the second half and secured three monster points on the road thanks to a brilliant hat-trick by an inspired Robert Lewandowski.
Reactions & Observations
- Hansi Flick was forced into a change in the warm-ups and replaced Marc Casadó with Dani Olmo, and Barça played in a classic 4-3-3 for the first time in quite a while with Frenkie de Jong as the pivot and Olmo and Fermín López as the interiors.
- Robert Lewandowski had a fantastic first half. Not only did he score twice, but the Pole was excellent with his hold-up play and his presence up top gave Barça a real target which helped them regain control of the action after going through 15 minutes of absolute chaos midway through the first half.
- Marcus Rashford did miss two big chances, but he was also hugely influential in the opening period with his direct play and end product on the wing. He was also more engaged in the press, and was better positioned to help Alejandro Balde on the left side of Barça’s defense.
- Ronald Araujo’s suicidal decision to play a desperate offside trap that led to Celta’s first equalizer is truly mind-boggling. The Uruguayan had one of those against Club Brugge too, and his bad judgment calls expose what is already a risky defensive system even further.
- The opening 30 minutes of the second half were a thing of beauty: Barça totally dominated the game, with calm and precise passing and some fantastic pressing from the forwards and midfielders, who consistently won the ball high up the pitch and kept it in Barça’s possession. De Jong was sublime in controlling the tempo, and the ball moved quickly and with purpose. That was some gorgeous stuff, and it completely killed any momentum Celta thought they would have had coming out in the second half.
- Lewandowski completing his hat-trick with a perfect header with 15 minutes left was the icing on the cake of Barça’s sensational second half, and it was the two-goal cushion they needed to end Celta’s comeback hopes.
- Seriously, I’m in love with that second half performance. To do that away to Celta, and without Pedri in midfield, is truly impressive.
- Even with Lewandowski scoring three goals you can easily make a case for Frenkie de Jong as Man of the Match. What a spectacular performance. I don’t even care about the late red card.
- This win is much bigger than just three points. It’s a show of strength from a wounded team that found its best version in the second half, and it provides a blueprint of what they can do when Raphinha, Pedri and Joan Garcia return. There is hope in Barça Land, friends.
