Celta 4-3 Barcelona: match report and goals: LaLiga week 7
Celta recorded a famous victory over Barcelona at Balaídos. The home side were 3-0 up at half-time, but Barça fought back. A terrible Ter Stegen error gave Celta their fourth. Copa del Rey live:Quarter Final Draw
Celta Vigo 4-3 Barcelona: match report
A thrilling night in Balaídos finished with Celta Vigo holding on for a famous victory over their illustrious rivals. Pardon the cliche but in what was truly a game of two halves, the home side had taken Barcelona to pieces in the opening 45, pouncing on the visitors' mistakes to lead 3-0 at the break.
But Celta's efforts in that intense opening period left them physically struggling in the second half, and from the start of the second 45 it looked like Barcelona would probably have a chance at least of getting back into the match.
And when Piqué beat keeper Sergio to the ball and nodded home in the 57th Celta's heads dipped. And they went right down when Iniesta (playing his 600th game for Barcelona) picked out André Gomes (who'd showed some powerful running during spells) in the box, only for the Barça player to go down under a double challenge. Ref Bikandi had no doubts and Neymar converted the penalty.
At that point all the money was on Barcelona levelling and likely going on to win it, but nobody had factored in an incredible Ter Stegen howler. Having received a back-pass the Barcelona keeper tried to play it out to a defender but got his timing and his angles all wrong and kicked it straight at Hernández running in on him. The ball hit the Celta player in the head and ricocheted in off the post. 4-2 and Celta felt they were back in charge.
Piqué grabbed Barcelona's third, and Luis Enrique's men went looking for the equaliser, but despite five long minutes of time added on Celta held on for a famous win.
Celta Vigo 4-3 Barcelona: second half
95'| FULL TIME! A famous win for Celta!
The Barcelona players think more time should have been added on, but Balaídos doesn't care. Huge celebrations around the ground as Celta hold on!
94'| Arda Turan fouls and Celta's Hernández has a good old rest on the floor afterwards.
93'| GUIDETTI! Gets a shot off away, but Ter Stegen is comfortably behind it.
92'| PIQUÉ! Another header, but this one is just wide. He's been enormous tonight.
91'| Celta go on a roam into Barcelona territory but they don't know whether they want to try for a goal or run the clock down, and end up doing neither.
90'| FIVE MINUTES ADDED ON!
90'| That's regulation time up. Keeper Sergio is down. He twisted his knee as Neymar's header went past him. Luis Suárez is angrily explaining to the referee that all the time will need to be added on.
88'| Neymar trying down the left. Barcelona probing and testing. Celta can't get it clear. Ball swung in by Arda Turan AND NEYMAR HEADS IT JUST WIDE!
86'| GOOOAAAALLLL! PIQUÉ AGAIN! Another header!! Two defenders trying to stop Piqué but he boomed into the box and forced it home.
83'| Some good movement, running and a spot of vision from Iniesta sees Barcelona create a couple of chances in a long move, but it comes to nothing. The final effort is an Iniesta blast from distance he'll want to forget.
82'| Change for Celta. Wass off and Castro on.
80'| Celta of course now looking much composed, after that absolute gift from Ter Stegen. Barça bench full of very sad, serious and disgruntled faces.
78'| HAS TO BE FIVE... Aspas through on his own, but he doesn't give the final effort any power and Ter Stegen blocks it. Great running from the halfway line though from the Celta man, and again poor defending from Barcelona to let him in. Nobody far enough back to catch him.
76'| GOOOOAAAALL! CELTA! Ter Stegen clears only as far as Pablo Hernánez's head as he runs in to close him down. Ball ricochets off the Celta player's forehead, hits the post and goes in. That's an absolute shocker from the Barcelona keeper.
75'| Change for Barcelona. Fresh faced Denis Suáerz comes on for Busquets.
73'| Piqué booked! Took a huge chunk of Aspas sliding in on him. Then has the gall to protest the decision. Berizzo, right by the incident, is NOT happy.
72'| Sergi Roberto with a neat pass to take out two players down the right, just unfortunately it's to nobody.
71'| Concerted, patient pressure from Barcelona. They think, quite rightly, that an equaliser could be pretty close here.
68'| Celta win a throw up the pitch on the right hand side and take a lethargically long time over it. They're suffering from their first half efforts. They end up getting shot off from the resulting move, but it flies well over Ter Stegen's head and, more importantly, cross-bar.
67'| Neymar with a chance, but he takes the ball in the box with his back to goal and can't do anything to trouble to Sergio. Neymar thinks he was impeded by a defender but ref Bikandi isn't giving another penalty.
67'| Still some life in Celta, Sisto into the box and gets a shot off, but Ter Stegen dives and grabs it.
65'| This is going to be an exceptionally long half an hour for Celta the way things are going...
63'| GOAAAAAALLL! Neymar runs, stutters, runs, and strokes home putting it left while Sergio dived the other way.
62'| PENALTY FOR BARCELONA! Great ball from Iniesta to André Gomes who looks to be hauled down...
62'| Bongonda off and Diaz on for Celta. They need an injection of something
61'| Sergi Roberto in down the right and the ball is nicked off Neymar's foot. Dangerous from Barça.
60'| Neymar now in the box with a chance of a header, but he can't connect. Celta have dropped their work rate and Barcelona are so much more comfortable.
59'| And then Piqué breaks up an attack at the other end. He's everywhere at the moment.
57'| GOOOOOOAAAAAALLLL!! Piqué!! Celta keeper comes for a cross, but Piqué is sharper and faster and gets his head on it first to nod it home past Sergio's despairing hands! Good heading.
55'| Neymar free kick and Piqué collects in the box, but can't do anything with it. Barcelona constantly probing at Celta looking for that opening goal that would give them some hope. Celta are taking a bit of a breather, but keeping it pretty organised at the back.
54'| Aspas slow to a ball and Sergi Roberto nicks it off him. The Celta man has already put in a massive shift and he looked tired there.
53'| André Gomes and Neymar with some delightful passing to move through the Celta midfield. The final ball in to Neymar is just nicked away by a desperate Celta leg. That was good football from the Barcelona pair.
52'| Good running from André Gomes and even better work from Arda Turan, but the move breaks down as Barça get close to the box.
51'| TER STEGEN! Stand up well to block a shot from the right.
50'| Barcelona AGAIN give the ball away easily coming out from the back. Sisto lays it off to Aspas who decides to try and dribble his way round Piqué, but the Barça defender watches it keenly, sticks out a perfectly timed leg and nabs it off him.
49'| Neymar wins a dangerous free-kick. And Suárez belts it into the wall. He gets another chance with the rebound and belts that into the wall too.
47'| Ter Stegen clearls slightly dangerously to Piqué and he nearly gives the ball to Aspas. Like the first half again.
46'| Celta win an early corner. They try a planned move. It comes to nothing. If they practiced that one a lot on the training they never really got the hang of it.
45'| Iniesta is on. 600 games for Barcelona up for him! He's on for Rafina.
Peep! | Barcelona get the second half underway!
Piqué and Alba hiding their conversation from the lip readers behind their hands. They look like they are having a right old grumble about something.
Players coming out at Balaídos...
Celta Vigo 3-0 Barcelona: half time summary
Well that couldn't have gone more to plan for Berizzo or less to plan for Luis Enrique. Celta did exactly what they planned to do: intense, focused, get the ball to Aspas who ran tirelessly at the Barça defence, and Barcelona did exactly what they didn't want to do, giving the ball away time and again.
And on three of those occasions, in just 10 minutes (from the 22nd minute to the 32nd) Celta made them pay. Sisto grabbed the first after Ter Stegen played a poor ball out; the second came from a failed Piqué clearance, with Aspas taking full advantage; and the third arrived when Wass nicked the ball in a dangerous area, sent a whipped cross into the middle and with Aspas ready to pounce Mathieu was forced to stick a toe on the ball, and could only turn it into his own net.
At half-time Barcelona are 16-1 at one well-known Spanish bookies to turn this around and claim a famous win, and if they are to do so expect Neymar to be fully involved - he looked lively and early on in the first half the Brazilian, Suárez and Arda Turan played some lovely stuff which very nearly brought Barcelona a goal. But four goals without conceding against this fired up Celta looks like a tall order.
Celta Vigo 3-0 Barcelona: first half
45'| Half-time! Luis Enrique goes off looking very serious indeed. As do his players. Celta have stung them three times in a first half where they were first to almost every ball and played with an intensity Barcelona struggled to match.
44'| Busquets booked! Heavy challenge on Aspas, might have touched the ball, but studs up and took a chunk of man.
43'| Mathieu under no pressure feels he has to try a long ball which goes straight to a Celta player. That's what giving the ball away three times leading to three goals does to a back line.
41'| Neymar wins a free kick on the left, and is getting upset about the attention he's getting (to be fair, he was hauled back by the waist). Free-kick flies over the danger zone and out.
41'| Oh! Great work from Cabral to nick the ball off Neymar's toes as he ran onto a long ball down the left.
39'| Neymar on a good run down the left, then back inside, challenged by Radoja and he goes down looking like he's in hurt something. Move continues and Suárez gets a shot off in the box, but he hooks it wide. Luis Enrique slaps his thigh in frustration. Neymar is back up.
38'| Powerful direct running from André Gomes through the midfield and it takes three Celta men to stop him. Illegally.
37'| Sergi Roberto very lucky not to get booked as he hauls Aspas down to stop a break developing. Cynical.
35'| Another half chance for Celta, but Mallo's shot is too close to Ter Stegen who grabs it extremely gratefully.
34'| Balaídos is in full fiesta mood here, and the Celta fans get even noisier when Piqué handles in the midfield.
32'| GOOOAAALLLLLL ! THREE FOR CELTA!
Barcelona again give the ball away at the back and this time as the cross comes in with Aspas lurking Mathieu is forced to go for the ball and can only turn it past his own keeper. My word. 3-0 for Celta after just over half an hour gone.
31'| GOOOOAAAAALLLL! CELTA MAKE IT TWO! Aspas!
A long ball over the top isn't dealt with and Aspas takes advantage.
30'| Cabral flirts with danger dwelling on the ball with Neymar and Suárez, like sharks sniffing blood, bearing down on him. He just gets the pass back away...
28'| Neymar and Piqué sandwich Aspas and force him to the ground in the midfield. Good tag team work from the Barça pair.
27'| Wass leads with his arm as he jumps with Turan and connects with the Turk's head. Foul, but nothing more. Turan isn't very happy.
26'| Twinkle toed Turan wins a free kick out on the left, level with the penalty spot. Neymar sends it in, but Sergio comes out large and in charge to claim.
24'| Barcelona suddenly struggling here. Celta are winning every 50:50 ball. André Gomes looks a bit shoogly, he's given a couple of loose balls away.
23'| Celta break and Aspas has a dig from the edge of the box that Ter Stegen has to tip over! Barça defence at sixes and sevens from the corner, but it eventually falls kindly to the German keeper.
21'| GOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAL! Celta take the lead! Ter Stegen with a poor ball out, Celta win it back and Sisto slots home.
21'| Aspas lays off neatly to Bongonda, but he gets his shot all wrong and it bobbles well wide.
20'| Big tackle from Roncaglia on Rafinha! That was well won.
18'| A little bit of Celta pressure down the left, but the Barça defence is up to everything Aspas and co can conjure up. Ter Stegen out fast to deal with one longer ball with his defence pushing up.
17'| Ball whipped in from the free-kick but Suárez had strayed offside...
16'| Neymar skips past Mallo, who's having none of it and shoves the Brazilian to the ground. Luis Enrique rages.
15'| Whipped cross takes a deflection off Celta's Roncaglia and Sergio is forced to punch! He gets it away from the danger zone too.
13'| Good pressure from Busquets and Barcelona, Celta forced all the way back to Sergio in goal who fires a huge one upfield that goes straight to the Barcelona defence, who begin a move. That's how pressing works.
12'| Celta corner. Comes to nothing. Berizzo shouts and gestures.
11'| Skills from Turan! The Turk and Suárez combine beautifully, but the final shot from the Uruguayan is too feeble to trouble Sergio. Turan is up for this tonight.
10'| One-two from Neymar and Suárez nearly comes off at the top of the box! A desperate Celta foot saves.
9'| Good work Aspas and Sisto sees Mallo get a whipped cross in, but too close to Ter Stegen! Neat attack from Celta though.
8'| Celta yet to make inroads into the Barça half. A long ball over the top sees Sisto chasing, but Piqué shouts for calm and deals with it passing back to Ter Stegen. Piqué's in fine form of course.
7'| Wass forced to head behind to deal with a dangerous ball in. Neymar takes the corner and it's headed fiercely out by the Celta defence.
5'| Mathieu spins very neatly on the ball in midfield to beat his man and then gets over excited at as his own display of skill and tries to put one in the top corner from miles out. It goes nowhere near the goal at all. At all.
4'| Suárez gets in down the left from a good ball over the top, but some great defending sees the ball ushered out by Mallo. He stands on the Uruguayan by mistake and instantly apologises. Suárez looks rather disgruntled but accepts the situation.
3'| Celta with a tentative move forward, but the Barça backline is solidly set up and they nick the ball back straight away.
1'| Neymar... into the wall! Balaídos breathes a huge sigh of relief. The corner then comes to nothing.
1'| Celta play it straight back to give their keeper an early confidence building touch. And in the next play Neymar sneaks through the middle and is foulded by Mallo! Dangerous free-kick to Barça!
Peep! | Bikandi Garrido gets us underway. Celta Vigo get the ball in play.
1' to go | Teams out on the pitch. Celta fans in great voice. Luis Enrique postively bounds out. He looks very chirpy indeed. Remember: Barcelona can go top of LaLiga tonight...
Celta Vigo - Barcelona: teams
Celta XI
Sergio; Hugo Mallo, Cabral, Sergi Gómez, Roncaglia; Radoja, Wass, Tucu Hdez; Bongonda, P. Sisto, Iago Aspa
On the bench: Rubén Blanco, Marcelo Díaz, Guidetti, Jonny, Señé, Rossi, Pape Cheikh.
Barcelona XI
Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mathieu, Alba, Busquets, Arda, André Gomes, Rafinha, Neymar and Suárez
And on the bench: Cillessen, Rakitic, Denis Suárez, Iniesta, Mascherano, Paco Alcácer and Digne.
Celta Vigo - Barcelona: latest news
3' to go | Here come the teams! Celta Vigo - Barcelona coming up!
5' to go | Clear skies and 15 degrees in Vigo, perfect for football!
19:45 | The teams are out and Luis Enrique has made four changes, with Mathieu, Andre Gomes, Rafinha and Arda coming in for Mascherano, Rakitic, Iniesta and Alcacer.
And that means Iniesta, who is on the bench, will have to wait to claim his 600th appearance for Barça.
19:03 | With Real Madrid drawing with Eibar 1-1 (the club from the capital's fourth draw on the trot), Barcelona have a chance to go top of the table this evening.
Barça are on 13 points, with Real Madrid and Atleti on 15. (And Athletic on 15 as well as as things stand, with Valverde's side 1-0 up away to Málaga having played just over half an hour).
18:40 | Recent results in this fixture - over the past decade, Celta have won one, Barça have gone home winners four times and the points were shared once, in March 2013.
16:40 | Berizzo is expected to make changes to the side which beat Panathinaikos 2-0 in the Europa League on Thursday; he has three players who are ruled out by injury - Carles Planas, Claudio Beauvue and Fabián Orrellana, the latter is back training with the squad but not match fit.
16:25 | If the Galicians win tonight, home coach Eduardo Berizzo could equal a feat which Luis Enrique achieved during his brief spell at Celta; Luis Enrique's Celtiñas gained four consecutive victories in 2013/14. Miguel Ángel Lotina holds the club record - 5 wins on the trot, set in 2002/3.
15:04 | The last time Barcelona visited Celta in the league, this happened...
12:55 | If you are interested in finding out how and where to watch tonight's game, then look no further. Of course, you're very welcome to stay with us here and enjoy our live text too, you know.
11:25 | On the team news front (as reviewed in detail by our match preview below) Samuel Umtiti and Messi are Barcelona's only absentees for the Celta clash. While Luis Enrique gave little away over what his starting lineup would be at his press conference yesterday, Arda, Rafinha and André Gomes are all candidates be in the XI for Sunday's late game in Balaídos.
10:30 | Today, if you didn't know, is quite a special occasion for one Barcelona player. That's because it's set to be Andrés Iniesta's 600th appearance for the club against Celta. Barça coach Luis Enrique yesterday lauded Iniesta's behaviour as well as his ball skills ahead of the midfield maestro's landmark match.
09:30 | Good morning! We’ll be bringing you all the latest news ahead of this evening’s LaLiga clash between Celta Vigo and Barcelona. Stay right where you are!
Celta Vigo vs Barcelona: match preview
Balaídos will be where LaLiga’s matchday seven is brought to a close as Celta host Barça. Celta are looking to continue their good run over the past two games, while a Messi-less Barcelona will be hoping to add to their tally of 12 goals in their three away games so far and take home all three points in the process.
Celta Vigo
Eduardo Berizzo’s side have had a good turn of form of late, with two wins in their previous two games (Espanyol and Sporting). Those victories however are Celta’s only two of the LaLiga season so far, with their campaign having got off to a rather uncertain start.
Nolito’s sale to Manchester City in the summer caused some disruption to the team and to make matters worse, the injury suffered to Orellana had many predicting that Celta might struggle as the season got underway. With the two consecutive wins under their belt, however, things are looking a lot brighter.
Celta will look to extend their winning streak against Barça, knowing that they can count on home advantage as well as having the extra motivation of trying to recapture the free-flowing play that has come to characterize the side in recent years.
Berizzo though, who has been prone to rotations this season thanks to Celta’s involvement in the Europa League, will have to do without Orellana, Planes and Beauvue.
Barcelona
Luis Enrique’s outfit seem to have recovered since the shock home loss to Alavés, and are now just one point off the summit of the table thanks to Real Madrid’s slipups in last two match days. Barcelona will want to finish this match day having usurped their rivals at the top.
The absence of Messi hasn’t hampered the progress of the Catalans, who swept aside Sporting last weekend (0-5). In addition, Luis Enrique has also seems to have managed to bring out the best in Arda Turan, who’s looking more like his former self, and Sergi Roberto, who’s looking one of the revelations of the season at right back.
Aside from the injured Messi, Enrique will also be without Samiel Umtiti in Balaídos.
Celta vs Barcelona: Possible line-ups
Possible Celta XI:
Sergio, Roncaglia, Cabral o Jonny, Sergi Goméz, Mallo, Radoja, Pablo Hernández, Wass, Sisto, Bongonda, Aspas. Coach: Berizzo.
Possible Barcelona XI:
Ter Stegen, Sergi Roberto, Piqué, Mascherano, Jordi Alba, Busquets, Rakitic, Iniesta, Rafinha o Arda Turan, Neymar, Luis Suárez. Coach: Luis Enrique.
Celta-Barcelona: live match build-up
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