Three takeaways from Celta Vigo 2-4 Barcelona | OneFootball

FC Barcelona moved to within three points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid, thanks to a hard-fought victory over Celta Vigo at Balaidos.

The final scoreline read 4-2 in their favour with Robert Lewandowski scoring a hat-trick, Lamine Yamal getting one goal to his name and Marcus Rashford bagging a brace of assists.

Hansi Flick will leave the game and head into the two-week break, focusing only on the many positives the game showed after a rough month for Barcelona.

However, the game also brought a challenge for him to handle after the break, as Frenkie de Jong’s late red card means he is suspended for the next game. With Marco Casado likely injured and Pedri unlikely to make it back in time, the manager is in a tricky situation.

Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Celta Vigo 2-4 Barcelona.

Lewandowski’s statement performance

Last night was all about Lewandowski for Barcelona, as the Polish striker stepped up and showed why he is far from finished despite being 37 years of age.

The veteran has not been a regular starter this season under Flick, both owing to Ferran Torres’ rise and his personal injury record. Last night was his first start after his injury last month and he delivered a statement performance.

Lewandowski looked sharp throughout the game, actively progressing towards goal, holding up the play exceptionally and drawing defenders away from the centre to create chances through the middle.

When given the ball at his feet, he showed that he still has clinical finishing in his boots. His first goal on the night came from the penalty spot early in the first half. While Ionut Radu did get a hand to it, the power of his strike was simply too much for the goalkeeper.

Just over 25 minutes later, he got on the end of Rashford’s ball from the left wing, timed his run past the defence and slotted it into the back of the net to restore Barcelona’s lead once more.

His hat-trick was eventually completed by his best goal of the three, which came from a corner taken by Rashford again. The striker headed the ball from a tight angle but somehow snuck it into the back of the net in what looked to be an impossible finish.

Lewandowski’s performance against Celta, needless to say, shows that the player is back at his best and urges Flick to hand him more prominence after the break.

Improved pressing and defence

Improvement across the board. (Photo by Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/Getty Images)

While Lewandowski’s clinical finishing helped Barcelona at one end of the field, the Catalans as a unit demonstrated a far better pressing structure than they have in recent times, which made a major difference defensively.

A lot was said ahead of the game about how Celta Vigo had all the necessary profiles and style of play to exploit Barça’s high defensive line. While they did do so twice in the first half, the Blaugrana were largely safe and defensively sound at Balaidos.

From Lewandowski and Rashford to Dani Olmo and De Jong in midfield, the entire team pressed tirelessly for most part of the game and did not give Celta much of the ball. That neutralised the hosts’ threat to a large extent and restricted their big chances to just one.

Needless to say, the development is positive from Flick’s perspective. Last night’s clash, in many ways, was their first dominant game and performance worth celebrating for over a month and a half, and the team should be proud of stepping up and looking less vulnerable.

After all, the stakes are only going to get higher, and there will be less margin for errors as the season progresses.

Deficit cut to three

Earlier on Sunday, Real Madrid faced one of La Liga’s most daunting away clashes of the year as they took on Rayo Vallecano at Vallecas. They simply could not show up on the day and dropped two points as they settled for a 0-0 draw.

Barcelona’s win, thus, helps them capitalise on Real Madrid’s slip-up and cuts the deficit to the league leaders, was five points before the matchday.

Having taken all three points at Balaidos, Barcelona are now just three behind Real Madrid and very much in the title race – something that would not have been as easy to state had the results been reversed.

Flick’s men now head into the international break with the momentum on their side and are just one win away from catching up with Real Madrid.

For Barcelona, there is more reason to cheer as Raphinha and Joan Garcia are set to return to the dynamics after the break, and Flick and Co. will look to get back to their best as the end of the year approaches. The title race is wide open.