09/23/2023
ᑌᑎᗷEᒪIEᐯᗩᗷᒪE ᑕOᗰEᗷᗩᑕK
ᴊᴏÃᴏ ᴀʙᴏᴜᴛ ᴛʜᴀᴛ! ʙʀɪʟʟɪᴀɴᴛ ʙᴀʀÇᴀ ꜱᴛᴜɴ ᴄᴇʟᴛᴀ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴄʟᴀꜱꜱɪᴄ ᴄᴏᴍᴇʙᴀᴄᴋ
⚽️ᗷᗩᖇᑕEᒪOᑎᗩ 3
⚽️ᑕEᒪTᗩ ᐯIGO 2
𝗔 𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗝𝗼ã𝗼 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗼 𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗳𝗳 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝘄𝗼 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹𝘀 𝗱𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝘀 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗮 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗖𝗲𝗹𝘁𝗮 𝗩𝗶𝗴𝗼 𝟯-𝟮 𝘁𝗼 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗮𝘂𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗮’𝘀 𝘂𝗻𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗠𝗮𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗱 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗟𝗮 𝗟𝗶𝗴𝗮 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲.
Moving away from Camp Nou for the first time in 65 years has had little effect on Barcelona, who came into this game having recorded consecutive 5-0 wins at adopted ground Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys. The evening sun welcomed a 45,000-strong crowd to see their side dominate the opening exchanges, but they struggled to turn their possession into attempts on Iván Villar’s goal.
Buoyed by last season’s final day win against Barça which preserved their La Liga status, Celta used their little time on the ball to forge the first chance. Iago Aspas’ attempted lob was tipped over by Marc-André ter Stegen, but the Galicians went one better from the resulting corner. A poor clearance from the home side allowed Luca de la Torre to poke through to Jørgen Strand Larsen, who this time gave Ter Stegen no chance, placing into the far corner. The surprise goal did little to change Barça’s approach, and openings in the staunch Celta defense remained few and far between. In fact, the only other clear opportunity of the first half went the way of the visitors, as Larsen’s header was saved well by Ter Stegen and De la Torre fired over on the rebound.
In an attempt to make amends for a substandard opening period, a change of shape for Barcelona was accompanied by the introduction of teenage sensation Lamine Yamal. Celta nevertheless continued to enjoy most of the openings, and there was soon a deserved second. A blistering counter saw Aspas thread through Tasos Douvikas, and the Greek substitute finished emphatically one-on-one with his first touch of the game.
Ultimately, dominance for 80 minutes is often not enough when playing a side of Barcelona’s quality. Nerves in the Celta camp were unsettled when João Félix superbly lifted the ball over the top to Robert Lewandowski, and the legendary striker lobbed Villar with style. The quick-fire equalizer came just minutes later when Cancelo pulled back for Lewandowski to smash in from the center of the box, and the comeback was to be completed within a scintillating final 10 minutes. Gavi lobbed a pass over the entire Celta defense, where Cancelo steamed in to prod past Villar and crown a famous comeback in Catalonia.
