Barça 4-3 Celta: The best and worst of the comeback

FC Barcelona repeated the feat of matchday 28 against Atlético (2-4), coming back from a two-goal deficit with less than half an hour to play. In the 62nd minute, Celta went up 1-3 thanks to a 'hat-trick' by Borja Iglesias. However, Hansi Flick's team equalized the score with two goals in just six minutes.

In the end, a penalty provoked by Dani Olmo in stoppage time allowed Raphinha to score his personal double and seal an epic victory that brings the 'culés' closer to their 28th league title. 

The 4-3 against Celta puts Barça more in the lead than ever, with a seven-point advantage over Real Madrid, waiting to see what the 'merengues' do on Sunday against Athletic (9:00 PM CEST). The Catalans, however, showed two contrasting faces on Saturday.

On one hand, the team exploited its offensive arsenal after two matches in which Barça could only score thanks to own goals. However, in defense, the 'azulgrana' team once again showed clear signs of exhaustion.

✅The best of Barça: character and punch

In attack, the team once again showed character and punch to react against a Celta that played a very intelligent match. Claudio Giráldez tried to nullify Robert Lewandowski with a line of 3/5 defenders that managed to skip lines when going on the counterattack thanks to long balls.

Barça lacked aim in the first half, but did not fail at the right time, when Celta managed to put them against the ropes. The key to the comeback was once again to score quickly, with a good goal from Olmo just two minutes after the partial 1-3.

In the immediate play after Borja Iglesias' third goal, Koundé, Lewandowski and Raphinha combined until the Brazilian found the space to enable Dani. The Galicians failed twice in a row in the exit and Barça did not forgive, taking advantage of the push from the Montjuïc stands.

And, after the 2-3 scored by Olmo, the whole stadium knew what was coming. In the 68th minute, a perfect cross from Lamine found Raphinha's head to equalize the match. The 'culés' suffered Robert Lewandowski's absence in the final stretch, but continued to push until stoppage time.

The victory would come from a penalty, after another good arrival from Dani and Yoel Lago's imprudence when trying to recover the ball. Melero López wanted to overlook the infraction, but del Cerro Grande, from the VAR, made him review and correct his initial decision. 

🟢The bench continues to respond to Flick

Barça players celebrating the victory against Celta

In that sense, the contribution of Olmo and Yamal, this time as revulsives, was decisive for Flick's team. Ferran Torres had responded in the first half, scoring a great goal in the 12th minute, but then lost importance in the rival area.

Fermín López also did not have a bad match, but did not have the lucidity of other days to generate clear chances. Dani and Lamine, on the other hand, made a difference in their first interventions, one scoring a good goal and the other enabling a teammate to turn the result around.

Against an already exhausted defense, both the one from Terrassa and the one from Mataró found spaces to create danger on the flanks. Both, together with Raphinha, carried the offensive weight of a Barça that this time did not have Lewandowski inspired, but still managed to score 4 goals with which they reach 88 in the tournament. 

❌The defense fails again: six goals conceded in a week

Borja Iglesias, author of a 'hat-trick' against Barça

However, Barcelona also left negative aspects in Montjuïc this Saturday. Flick put his best possible defense, without Alejandro Balde and with Jules Koundé playing his 25th match as a starter in 26 appearances this 2025. 

On the left, Gerard Martín could never find a way to deal with Pablo Durán, assistant in the action of the partial 1-1. The Gaul, on the other hand, did not have so many problems in the one-on-one against Swedberg, after a very tough night in Dortmund against Karim Adeyemi.

In the middle, Iñigo Martínez and Pau Cubarsí could not stop Borja Iglesias either. In the action of the 1-3, the striker surpassed both in speed with a run from his own field, prior long ball from Sergio Carreira. 

And, in midfield, it was not a good afternoon for Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman committed a gross error in the 52nd minute, failing to clear a long pass from Yoel Lago that allowed the 'Panda' to be one-on-one against Szczesny.

Even Pedri lost more balls than usual, although he surpassed a hundred complete passes in the match (104 of 114, 91%). The team once again showed signs of exhaustion against a calendar that gives no respite. Even so, they were able to take the victory. 

🟡Szczesny, heads and tails against Celta

The afternoon was also complex for Szczesny. The Pole failed in the play of the 1-1, risking more than necessary to cut a ball crossed low. At the end he also had a very compromised exit against Fer López, but luckily for Barça Mingueza missed a goal with an empty net.

'Tek', however, completed 5 saves in the 90 minutes that avoided greater damage in the 'azulgrana' background. The most notable came in the 43rd minute, with a double intervention against Ilaix Moriba and Iker Lozada, in a play preceded by a foul by Ilaix on Cubarsí not sanctioned by Melero López.

In this way, Barça once again showed its two faces in a vibrant day in Montjuïc: a team that is a blast in attack and never gives up, but that also concedes too many facilities in the background and, like in the final stretch of 2024, accuses the physical wear of an implacable calendar. Luckily, in the mental aspect, the 'culés' are still an oak.