FC Barcelona made a successful return to La Liga after their Champions League dream came to an end. They recorded a narrow 1:0 win against Celta Vigo. However, the Catalans have to worry about goalscorer Lamine Yamal.
After being eliminated from the Champions League despite their 2:1 win at Atletico Madrid, FC Barcelona’s only concern in the coming weeks will be to maintain their comfortable lead at the top of La Liga. Starting against Celta Vigo, who also bowed out of the European Cup after losing 3-1 in the second leg against SC Freiburg in the Europa League. Compared to the game at Atletico, only Cubarsi (suspended in the CL) came into the starting eleven for Fermin.
Furious start to the game
The game got off to a furious start, with both teams having a great chance after just 40 seconds: First, Lamine Yamal failed to score from the outside of the net, before Garcia had to save from Duran at the other end, who then tried a side-footed shot from the resulting corner (2). The game then settled down somewhat. Barca had more of the play, but Celta were always dangerous through transitional moments. This included Jutgla, who shot over the goal from a few meters out (15th).
Vigo did not concede much overall, but often lacked the necessary precision in the final pass in attacking play. However, Barca also had chances: Lamine Yamal narrowly missed with the outside of his foot (29′).
Lamine Yamal scores from the spot – and has to come off injured
If the home side had a chance, it was through Lamine Yamal, who made his way into the penalty area in the closing stages of the first half and was rudely pulled off his feet by Lago – penalty! The youngster stepped up to the task – and scored to make it 1:0 (41′). Instead of celebrating, however, he immediately indicated an injury, lay down on the ground and left the pitch shortly afterwards, accompanied by supporters.
The match was interrupted for almost 20 minutes because a medical emergency had to be treated in the stands. Little happened in the long stoppage time, with Bardghji, who came on for Lamine Yamal, firing in a good shot from distance shortly before the break (45.+22).
Ferran Torres’ 2:0 does not count
The second half started a little more cautiously than the first. After just over ten minutes, however, the ball was straight into the net: Ferran Torres’ fine volley under the crossbar was disallowed for offside, however (56′). Apart from that, dangerous goals were in short supply. Because Dani Olmo chased the ball into the upper tier (68′) and Duran’s miss in a one-on-one with Garcia would probably have been conceded by VAR anyway (70′), nothing changed in the end.
Celta Vigo tried to be dangerous again in the closing stages, but were not really successful. As Barca also failed to create any more chances worth mentioning, the Catalans ended up with a narrow 1:0 victory. The Blaugrana thus maintain their nine-point lead over Real Madrid, who had already opened the gap on Tuesday, and will be challenged again on Saturday (4.15pm) in Getafe – whether with or without Lamine Yamal will be revealed by the examinations in the coming days. Celta Vigo visit Villarreal a day later (9pm).
