Celta Vigo Stops Barcelona's Title Race in Entertaining Draw
Ernesto Valverde's men couldn't go beyond the draw at Camp Nou on Saturday afternoon as they fought a high-paced, astonishing match against Celta Vigo, who tied Barcelona down by 2-2.
The visitors broke the deadlock after only 20 minutes with a stunner by ex-Liverpool flop Iago Aspas, who ran all the way from the middle of the pitch, and hit home the rebound to score.
The Blaugrana fought back in a matter of minutes, as captain Lionel Messi ended his five-game drought by netting from 10 yards.
Towards the 60th minute the host took the lead as an admirable one-two between Messi and Jordi Alba enabled Luis Suarez who fired the ball home for the 2-1.
Yet Celta didn't feel discouraged by Suarez's shot and responded with an equally beautiful comeback goal thanks to Maxi Gomez, giving the hosts another headache.
Barcelona have had a marvellous journey in the La Liga so far and are still unbeaten with only three draws running their almost impeccable run of consecutive wins. However, they have now a five-point lead over Valencia who will try to narrow the gap this weekend.
The game once again proved to be an entertaining show to watch: before this encounter, the two sides had accumulated 24 goals in their last four matches, and certainly met expectations on Saturday.
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Protests sparked inside the first minute of the match after Luis Suarez was wrongly booked for fouling Brais Mendez, who was forced out with a dislocated shoulder.
However, after 20 minutes of fairly balanced pall possession, it was Celta who eventually took the lead thanks to Aspas.
The Spaniard was caught alone and onside by Daniel Wass. The ex-Liverpool flop swung the ball towards ter-Stegen, who made an initial stunning save as he pushed the ball away with his leg up in the air. The ball was only rebounded into the air and Aspas took another chance to strike it and, this, time, he didn't miss the target.
But the guests' lead lasted for barely one minute, as Messi made it all square on Barcelona's first attack since the restart. The captain received a cross that was meant for Suarez and slotted from 10 yards just under Ruben much to the Camp Nou's relief.
Ten minutes of non-stop breathtaking playing followed for the hosts, who looked transformed after scoring. The Blaugrana barely let Celta touch the ball as they wasted one of their best chances of the match so far. Suarez's initially shot from a difficult angle was parried. Messi then picked the rebounded ball, but his shot hit the post.
Celta had looked annihilated towards the end of the half, yet had an interesting opportunity before the break when Wass approached the goal, but shot too wide.
The Blaugrana tried desperately to find the lead in the opening minutes. Messi played a clever cross for Robinho, who dribbled past the defenders and then Celta's goalkeeper, but failed to score with the goal at his mercy.
Suarez did finally get his moment of glory after 15 minutes of playing. Barcelona delighted Nou Camp as they displayed their best football for the Uruguayan's goal.
Alba played the usual, outstanding one-two with Messi, scooped the ball inside the box and found Suarez for the lead.
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Yet Celta gave Barcelona a taste of their own medicine as they evened the score less than ten minutes later. A relaxed defence allowed Aspas to serve a perfect cross to Maxi, who took his time to prepare the shoot and swung the ball home for the visitors.
The Blaugrana hit the woodwork for the second time when a cheekily played free-kick by Messi and Alba unleashed Gerard Pique, who, alone in the box, who sent the ball against the post.
The pressure was at the stars in the final minutes of the match, as the hosts fought like lions to secure the result.
Despite several efforts by both sides, none managed to score the winner, as Barcelona and Celta got one frustrating point each, although Celta will be the more contented.
