This Saturday, Barcelona conceded a draw (2-2) to Balaídos while victory was assured in the 81st minute. Hansi Flick’s men succumbed to Celta in the finals following the expulsion of Marc Casadó and conceded two avoidable goals in just two. minutes which diluted the Barça team.
The match was marked by controversy in the first half due to the refereeing of Soto Grado, who twice forgave the expulsion of young culé Gerard Martín. The left-back was Hansi Flick’s main new addition to the XI against Celta to the detriment of Bucket who suffered from muscle pain and was uncertain to start.
The one who has not yet traveled with the team is Lamine Yamal, who is still recovering from his injury. There were doubts that the culés would be much less without the Spanish international, since Flick loses power in his idea of the game, and Barça showed once again that without Lamine there is no heaven.
The leader went to Balaidos which recorded the best attendance this season with a total of 24,573 spectators. The Blaugrana looked to maintain their advantage at the top of the table, with Real Madrid closing the gap and looking to make up for the last defeat they suffered against Real Sociedad before the national team break. In San Sebastián, Barça did not have a shot between the three sticks throughout the match and let slip a streak of seven consecutive victories between the League and the Champions League. In addition to the three points, the Catalans also lost Frenkie de Jong who was injured again.
Celta started the match by harassing a Barça team who failed to gain possession early on in the match. The pressure exerted by Claudio Giráldez’s men was such that Iago Aspas, the Galician team’s goalkeeper, missed a goal after three minutes. Mingueza crosses to the penalty spot and Iago Aspas, completely alone, crosses the ball too far to the left of Iñaki Peña’s goal while Balaídos was already scoring a goal.
And the Barça team played with a very advanced defensive line, as is usual with Flick, while Celta tried not to commit offside. The resounding opportunity wasted by Aspas awakened Hansi Flick’s men who, little by little, set out and succeeded in imposing their law.
In an isolated play in the 14th minute, the League leader hit Balaídos at the first chance he had. Koundé makes a long pass into space, which Mingueza does not measure well, leaving the face-to-face practically open for Raphinha. And the culé right winger, such as he is, did not miss his duel against Guaita with a superb cross strike. Great efficiency from Flick. Eight goals for the Brazilian international in La Liga, which is already his best record with Barcelona.
A bucket of cold water for a Celta who did not weaken and continued with the same game plan. The Galicians almost equalized four minutes after the goal conceded thanks to a strike from Ilaix Moriba from outside the surface which forced a good handball from Iñaki Peña to avoid the score 1-1. The ball from the Guinean midfielder was already heading towards the group itself.
Bamba also had it in the 22nd minute. Douvikas filtered the Ivorian’s entry into the heart of the rival area, but his shot, going straight to the ground, grazed the crossbar. Barça was still breathing and had a slight advantage on the scoreboard.
Possible expulsion of Gerard Martín
The first controversy of the match occurred in the 27th minute with a fall by Aspas in the area, which required a push from Gerard Martín (who already had a card) in the Barça area. Soto Grado saw nothing punishable. Played very to the limit.
Celta had another attempt at Bamba’s feet in the 34th minute, but this time his cross went straight over the backline. The match turned into a real street runner, with a Galician team knowing how to break Barça’s offside line and carry out the dreaded counter-attacks, but without being efficient and too lenient.
Quite the opposite of the culé team, which took advantage of the few opportunities offered to it by its rival. In fact, the referee canceled a superb goal from Lewandowski in the 40th minute. The Polish striker scored an excellent goal against Guaita, but he was clearly ahead.
Before arriving at the break, Gerard Martín clearly received the second yellow card again. The young Barcelona player arrived late with an ill-timed tackle on Aspas, which provoked the indignation of all Balaídos. Among the protests of the Celtiñas demanding the expulsion of Gerard Martín, Aspas himself was warned with a card by Soto Grado, which infuriated the “10” of Celta, who had to be restrained by his teammates at the end of the first half and taken to the locker room to prevent further harm to your team.
Whipped in Soto Grado
The second part promised to be exciting. Before the ball rolled again, Balaídos whistled loudly at the referee for the two controversial actions in the first half. On the other hand, Barcelona did not play well at the break, as they started with doubts in ball transitions and Aspas forgot the first half incident and started again.
The Celta captain tried to surprise Iñaki Peña in the 53rd minute and almost scored a superb goal. Iago saw the Barça goalkeeper in front of him, but his shot from the center of the field went close to the right post of the goal.
When it seemed that the Galicians’ draw would arrive as soon as possible, the figure of Lewandowski appeared, who froze Balaídos. The League’s top scorer, without it being his best game and barely visible, scored Barca’s second goal after stumbling to recover the ball, struggling for several rebounds and then finishing perfectly with a low shot of land against Guaita. The Polish striker had not scored for two weeks.
After the second goal of Flick’s men, Celta did not collapse and remained hopeful. In fact, Celtiñas continued to waste numerous scoring opportunities, and against a great team you have to be almost 100% efficient. In just two minutes, Alfon, then Hugo Álvarez, made Iñaki Peña great again, who excelled with two saves to save his team five minutes after Lewandowski’s goal.
The game was slowing down. Celta were desperate for their lack of efficiency, and Raphinha had the 0-3 in his boots in the 75th minute and his special double after a through ball from Dani Olmo, but his cross shot bounced off the right post of the goal of Guaita. .
However, just when it looked like the whole fish had been sold, Marc Casadó was sent off after receiving a second yellow card in the 81st minute for catching Ilaix Moriba while forgetting the ball.
The expulsion opened the eyes of Celta, who believed in it, trusted him and finally managed to reduce the gap in the 83rd minute with a goal from Alfon after a huge error from Koundé, who fell asleep with the ball in the area, losing it under pressure from the Celtiña player, who beat Iñaki Peña with a good finish.
Balaídos was arriving, he saw a possible return. And as sometimes dreams come true, Celta managed to equalize two minutes later thanks to Hugo Álvarez, who received a ball from Mingueza, simulated Fort and made a cross shot to beat Iñaki Peña and unleash madness in the stadium.
Barcelona dissolved in just five minutes between the expulsion of Casadó and the two goals of the Galician team. The Barça team didn’t believe it and ended up giving up two points in their fight for the league title.
