Barcelona outplay Celta Vigo to win 2-0 at the Camp Nou
Barcelona registered a 2-0 victory over Celta at home
Barcelona produced a good performance to overcome the historical threat of Celta Vigo at Camp Nou. Jordi Alba was the star of the show, as Marc-André ter Stegen kept a rare clean sheet and Lionel Messi was his usual brilliant self.
Barcelona came under early pressure from Celta Vigo, as Maxi Gómez and Iago Aspas threatened the defence. But the side hit back with resounding elegance, opening the scoring in the 10th minute after a spell of dominance in possession.
Lionel Messi again linked up with Jordi Alba. The left-back made a run down the left flank, and was unmarked. He could have played it to the back post, where Arturo Vidal had made a run. But he decided to go for the one-two with Messi.
The captain’s first-time shot was saved by Rubén Blanco at the near post, only for Ousmane Dembélé to nutmeg the Celta goalkeeper and score his 7th goal of the La Liga campaign. After that, Barça looked even more threatening and had swathes of chances, but couldn’t capitalise.
More from Everything Barca
- FC Barcelona tracking Belgian Wonderkid
- FC Barcelona vs Betis Player Ratings
- Barça boss Xavi to get contract extension
- FC Barcelona planning swoop for Arsenal midfielder
- Barcelona interested in €30 million wonderkid
Maxi Gómez’s snap-shot took the unsighted Marc-André ter Stegen by surprise, but the German international saved it with ease. They could have had an opportunity after Gómez dispossessed Gerard Piqué. But the referee blew his whistle for a foul.
From the resulting spell of possession, Barça extended their lead. Sergio Busquets lobbed it to Jordi Alba. Then, Dembélé made a run, taking two Celta defenders with him and allowed Messi space to run into. Alba’s pass to Messi was pinpoint, and he finished with ease.
Celta started the second-half with a bang, and Barcelona hardly got possession of the ball. But Iago Aspas had to come off with an injury, and the Galicians lost a huge amount of quality. But Barça did well to fight back, yet again.
Luis Suárez had a golden opportunity in the 60th minute, after Jordi Alba had made yet another defence-splitting pass. But the 31-year old Uruguayan centre-forward missed the target one-on-one with Rubén Blanco on his left foot.
dark. Next. Vidal: "Champions League is our priority"
The rest of the game was pretty much end-to-end, with both sides having prolonged periods of possession. But no one could break the deadlock for Celta, as Barça held on to secure the three points, with some game time for the Brazilian duo, Arthur and Philippe Coutinho.