Barcelona played out one of the worst games of their season today as they visited the Balaidos to take on Celta Vigo away from home. Coming off off the 3-3 draw against Granada, the Catalan supporters were probably expecting a lot more from the club tonight.
Robert Lewandowski somehow found a way through for Barcelona in the first-half with a superb individual effort, scoring from the edge of the box.
However, Celta levelled the game two minutes into the second half through none other than Iago Aspas, whose shot took a cruel deflection.
Barça then played out a lifeless 45 minute game before Lamine Yamal somehow won a penalty for them in injury time.
Lewandowski unfortunately missed the spot-kick in anti-climatic fashion, but in proper anti-climatic fashion for Celta, the penalty was retaken and this time, converted by Barcelona’s no. 9.
First win for Barcelona at Balaidos in years. Ugly, but they’ll take it.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen: 7
Could not do much about the goal as it was deflected last-minute over him. Did well enough for the rest of the game, though, and was solid in his distribution.
Jules Kounde: 6
Made some rookie errors, especially in the first-half with his positioning, but got away with it. Caught a cruel deflection for Celta’s goal, but cannot be faulted much for it. Poor with his crosses.
Ronald Araujo: 7.5
A solid 45 minutes for Araujo, who recovered the ball brilliantly a couple of times. Had to be subbed off due to discomfort at the break, though.
Pau Cubarsi: 7
A decent showing for Cubarsi, who passed out of pressure superbly as Barcelona struggled to take control of the game.
Joao Cancelo: 6.5
Cancelo was a superb outlet for Barcelona in the first-half, finding space to the left off Roque on the flank. However, could not find that final pass today with a lot of his attempted left stranded.
Frenkie de Jong: 7
Unphased in possession, de Jong turned and twisted his way out of pressure to control the tempo of the midfield, but eventually could only do so much.
Andreas Christensen: 6
Neat and tidy in possession, Christensen looked comfortable with the ball in his feet, but had some trouble tracking back, especially while marking runners from midfield.
Pedri: 6.5
An uncharacteristically underwhelming display from Pedri today, who was blocked off tremendously by Celta. Could not find his way past their mid-block and was eventually called to the bench for Fermin Lopez.
Lamine Yamal: 7.5
Followed up his brace against Granada with an assist tonight, but looked far from his best as Mihailo Ristic did a solid job of cutting him off on the wing.
Came up clutch again, winning the penalty in injury time that won Barcelona the game.
Robert Lewandowski: 8 (MOTM)
By far Barcelona’s best player in the first half, Lewandowski has looked sharper since Xavi’s resignation announcement. Not only did he score the only goal of the game for the visitors, but also did well to connect the midfield and attack.
Was lucky that his horrible penalty was allowed to be retaken, and eventually converted. Man of the match.
Vitor Roque: 4
An outing to forget for Roque, who was barely involved in any move Barcelona tried making.
SUBSTITUTES:
Inigo Martinez: 7
Another solid outfit for Inigo, who was the reason Barcelona only conceded one tonight in the second half. Made some crucial interceptions and broke lines with ease as always.
Ilkay Gündoğan: 6.5
Created some half chances here and there, but did not have enough time or space to impact the game as well as one would expect.
Raphinha: 5
Raphinha looked completely out of his depth on the left-wing, failing to make a single decent pass or dribble.
Fermin Lopez: 7
Brought some much-needed energy to the game, but too little too late eventually.
