Barça 4-3 Celta: Comeback and a strike at LaLiga!

FC Barcelona and Celta de Vigo starred in a memorable match on Saturday at Montjuïc (4-3). The Azulgrana team showed their best and worst sides in attack and defense, respectively, but managed to turn around a match that seemed impossible in the second half. In the end, Raphinha's double allowed the Culés to take a victory that is worth half a Liga title.

Hansi Flick gave a rest to Lamine Yamal, who had played practically everything this year. The youth player had not been a substitute in a Liga match since matchday 15, against Las Palmas (1-2), while Fermín López was back in the starting lineup, winning the battle against Gavi and Dani Olmo.

Both the youth player and the Terrassa native would be key in the Culé's reaction in the second half, leading the comeback in six minutes of fury where the match went from 1-3 to 3-3.

This was the second comeback in Liga this 2025 (the third, counting the 4-5 against Benfica in the Champions League), after the remembered reaction at the Metropolitano against Atlético (2-4).

This, of course, was much more special, because it was played at home and much closer to the end of the season. Without a doubt, it was a true Saturday of glory for Flick's team. 

Barça and Celta played a great match from the start

Barça only took a couple of minutes to arrive with danger to the rival area. Robert Lewandowski was very close to reaching his hundredth goal with the Azulgrana shirt after a good low cross from Fermín López, but the '9' could not give direction to his shot with the right.

Celta struggled to make more than two passes in a row, suffocated by Flick's high pressure. Iñigo Martínez, with a header, was close to scoring after a corner from Raphinha from the right. The goals would not take long to arrive and, before the initial quarter of an hour, there would be movement in both areas.

Ferran put Barça ahead, but Celta reacted immediately

Ferran Torres scored the 1-0 against Celta

In the 12th minute, Ferran Torres received a pass from Iñigo near the edge of the area. The 'Shark' dribbled to his left, taking advantage of the drag of marks from 'Lewy' and Raphinha.

With time and space, he took a crossed right-footed shot, impossible for Guaita, to celebrate his 17th goal of the season, the tenth in the Liga so far.

Barcelona, however, wasted the advantage very quickly again. Celta only took three minutes to respond, thanks to an excellent filtered pass from Fran Beltrán towards the right side, where Pablo Durán appeared behind Gerard Martín.

The '18' extended towards the center of the area to look for a Borja Iglesias who scored into an empty net, taking advantage of Szczesny's bad exit.

The Pole wanted to clear with his right glove, but risked too much and left the goal served to the 'Panda'. With the 1-1, the match gained in intensity, becoming a give and take at times.

Celta almost repeated the play of their goal in the 23rd minute, but this time Szczesny did respond in a good way, shrinking Borja in the one-on-one.

Szczesny made up for his mistake with a providential double save

The Culés responded with two good collective plays in which there was a lack of success in the definition, with a weak shot from Raphinha into Guaita's hands and another deflected shot from Ferran.

Barça, however, hurt the Galician defense with the mobility of Fermín and the 'Shark', both undetectable for the Celta defenders, appearing through the center and the sides.

In the 38th minute, Pedri generated a very dangerous foul on the edge of the area that Raphinha almost converted into a great free-kick goal. The Brazilian wanted to place it in the top corner, but the right-footed shot went slightly high. The visitors reacted with a lethal counterattack on the edge of halftime, but this time Szczesny responded with two great saves.

In an action preceded by a foul by Ilaix Moriba on Pau Cubarsí not sanctioned by Melero López, Celta had everything to go ahead, but the Azulgrana goalkeeper saved the shots from Ilaix himself and Iker Losada, the latter at point-blank range after the initial clearance from 'Tek'. Before halftime, Barça returned to arrive with another shot from Ferran from the edge of the area.

Borja Iglesias took advantage of the lapses in the Azulgrana defense

After an intense and very entertaining first half, Barça returned from the dressing room with their XI intact. Claudio Giráldez, for his part, put the former Culé Óscar Mingueza in place of Iker Losada. Flick's team returned to besiege the rival goal in the first minutes, but Celta also generated danger with Pablo Durán from the left.

The Culés warned with another shot from Fermín that Guaita pocketed without problems. However, the visitors would go ahead again in the 52nd minute, taking advantage of a coordination error between Frenkie de Jong. The Dutchman wanted to clear a long pass from Yoel Lago with a volley, but failed in his attempt and Borja Iglesias was able to go alone towards the area.

The 'Panda', with time and space, took a dry, crossed shot, impossible for Szczesny. Flick used the bench, putting Dani Olmo and Lamine Yamal in for Fermín and Ferran. However, Celta continued to do damage in the Culé defense with long balls.

In the 62nd minute, a clearance from Carreira became an assist for Iglesias. The '7' started the race from his own half, surpassing Iñigo and Cubarsí in speed to define with a soft touch before Szczesny. 

Furious comeback from Barça to tie in six minutes

Any other team in Europe would be KO in a match like this, but Flick's Barça has shown us that the darker the panorama, the better football they display. In the 64th minute, a good collective action between Koundé, Lewandowski and Raphinha ended in a great assist from the Brazilian for Dani Olmo.

The Terrassa native anticipated the Galician defense, breaking the offside trap to enter the area and take an unstoppable left-footed shot for Guaita. As soon as the ball made contact with the net, Montjuïc exploded. The fans and the team knew what was coming.

With Barça fully committed to attack, Celta's resistance soon fell. In the 68th minute, a great cross from Lamine from the right found Raphinha's head to equalize the score, in the midst of the madness at the Lluís Companys.

This was Yamal's 12th assist in LaLiga and Rafa's 14th in the tournament. Giráldez wanted to stop the Azulgrana bleeding with the entry of Iago Aspas and Fer López for Borja Iglesias and Pablo Durán, the two figures of the Celta attack. 

Concern for Barça in the final stretch

The Azulgrana team, logically, had to take their foot off the accelerator in the final quarter of an hour, after ten minutes at a thousand miles per hour. The Culé alarms went off in the 78th minute, when Lewandowski asked for the change due to a pinch in the back of his right thigh.

Gavi entered in his place and, a week before the Copa final, his presence in La Cartuja is in great danger. In the final minutes, Eric García and Pau Víctor also entered for Cubarsí and Gerard Martín.

Mingueza had the victory for Celta in the 90th minute, but incredibly missed his header with the goal empty, slightly disturbed by Iñigo after the cross from Fer López. Szczesny had been left stranded by preventing the shot from the Galician midfielder.

Raphinha closed the comeback from the penalty spot in added time

Raphinha celebrating a goal against Celta

In the 94th minute, however, came the play that defined the match. Dani Olmo, the best of Barça in the second half, generated a clear penalty from Yoel Lago. In principle, Melero López overlooked the infraction, but Del Cerro Grande, from the VAR, called the Andalusian to review a play that admitted no doubts.

The center back ran over the attacking midfielder, committing a foul inside the area. Raphinha took charge of the situation, securing with an unstoppable crossed left-footed shot for Guaita. In the end, it was a Saturday of glory for the Culés, who are back to seven points behind Real Madrid and are already savoring the Liga title. The first step towards the treble is almost complete.

Match details: FC Barcelona 4-3 Celta de Vigo

• FC Barcelona, 4: Szczesny; Koundé, Cubarsí (Eric García, min. 88), Iñigo, Gerard Martín (Pau Víctor, min. 88); De Jong, Pedri; Raphinha, Fermín (Dani Olmo, min. 59), Ferran (Lamine Yamal, min. 59); Lewandowski (Gavi, min. 78).
• Celta de Vigo, 3: Guaita; Javi Rodríguez, Yoel Lago, Marcos Alonso; Pablo Durán (Fer López, min. 74), Fran Beltrán, Ilaix Moriba (Sotelo, min. 89), Carreira; Iker Losada (Mingueza, min. 46), Borja Iglesias (Iago Aspas, min. 74) and Swedberg (González, min. 60).
• Goals: 1-0, Ferran Torres (min. 12); 1-1, Borja Iglesias (min. 15); 1-2, Borja Iglesias (min. 52); 1-3, Borja Iglesias (min. 62); 2-3, Dani Olmo (min. 64); 3-3, Raphinha (min. 68).
• Referee: Mario Melero López. Booked Raphinha and Iago Aspas in added time. Also Iñigo Martínez and Óscar Mingueza.
• Stadium: Olímpico Lluís Companys de Montjuïc
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 32 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25