Barcelona pulled off a stunning comeback from two goals down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 on Saturday and move seven points clear of Real Madrid in the La Liga title race. The Catalans trailed 3-1 inside the final half-hour after a Borja Iglesias hat-trick for the visitors but Dani Olmo scored and then Raphinha struck twice, including a 98th minute penalty, to snatch three essential points for the leaders. Champions Real Madrid, second, host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, with a Clasico showdown still to come in May.
“This attitude, this mentality of not giving up, is really great to see… we tried everything to get the three points and we did it,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told reporters.
However Flick said striker Robert Lewandowski needed tests after coming off with an apparent hamstring problem, making him a doubt for the Copa del Rey final next weekend against rivals Real Madrid.
“From my experience we wait until tomorrow (and the tests),” said Flick, who did not want to rule out the club’s top scorer too quickly.
The coach, who railed against his team’s intense schedule on Friday, rested teenage star Lamine Yamal for the first time in 2025, although he was later needed from the bench after Iglesias’ treble.
The Catalans took the lead after 12 minutes when Ferran Torres, starting in place of the 17-year-old, strolled into space and with the defence standing off, drilled past Vicente Guaita from the edge of the box.
Celta Vigo swiftly hit back, skewering Barcelona’s high defensive line three minutes later.
Pablo Duran escaped on the right with the defence stranded and his cross was turned home by Iglesias into an empty net, after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny dived fruitlessly to try to intercept the ball.
Celta, seventh in La Liga and in contention for European football next season, were finding plenty of joy going forward.
Claudio Giraldez’s team took the lead early in the second half after a mistake by Frenkie de Jong, who ceded possession sloppily in a dangerous area, allowing Iglesias to find an angle and drive a low effort beyond the reach of Szczesny.
With Barcelona on the attack Celta hit them again with Sergio Carreira playing Iglesias into an ocean of space behind the high line. The striker galloped through and beat the retreating Szczesny with ease.
Riveting comeback
Inspired by substitutes Yamal and Olmo, Barcelona battled back, showing the attacking verve their rivals Real Madrid lacked in midweek as they sought their own comeback against Arsenal in the Champions League.
Raphinha nudged a pass through for Olmo to beat Guaita and rouse the Olympic stadium crowd from its stupor.
Four minutes later the Brazilian winger scored himself, heading home as Yamal crossed into the danger area from the right flank.
Former Barcelona defender Oscar Mingueza could have struck for Celta Vigo in the 90th minute but headed wide from point-blank range.
Eventually Barcelona were awarded a penalty deep in injury time after a VAR review when Olmo was clumsily clattered from behind by Yoel Lago.
With Lewandowski replaced in the final stages, Raphinha took responsibility and hammered into the top-right corner to earn his team a dramatic and potentially vital victory.
“This is football, we really wanted to win, maybe we weren’t at our best (earlier in the game) but the response from the team, and the fans pushed us on… we deserved it,” Olmo told DAZN.
“These are three points that take us closer to our objective, they’re important and we have to continue.”
Celta were left with nothing to show for their efforts.
“It’s a bittersweet feeling… we scored three, which few teams can do (here), but it feels bad,” said Celta’s Duran.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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