Celta fell 2–4 to FC Barcelona in an intense, back-and-forth encounter at Abanca Balaídos. The Sky Blues competed well for large stretches of the match, but the visitors’ attacking efficiency — led by an inspired Robert Lewandowski — ultimately proved decisive.
After a tribute to Fran Beltrán for surpassing 236 appearances in the Celta shirt, the match began at a lively pace. Lewandowski put Barça ahead from the penalty spot in the 10th minute, but Sergio Carreira quickly levelled for Celta with a fine collective move. The Polish striker struck again in the 37th minute, only for Borja Iglesias to make it 2–2 shortly afterwards — a fair reflection of the home side’s ambition. However, just before the break, Lamine Yamal capitalised on a defensive lapse to restore Barcelona’s lead at 2–3.
In the second half, Barcelona controlled the tempo more effectively as fatigue began to weigh on the Celta players. Lewandowski completed his hat-trick in the 73rd minute with a header from a Rashford corner, sealing the 2–4 result. Claudio Giráldez’s men pushed to narrow the gap until the final whistle but could not find a way past a more clinical opponent.
Despite the scoreline, Celta left a positive impression in several phases of the game and stayed true to their competitive identity against one of LaLiga’s top sides. The upcoming international break will provide time to recover and fine-tune details before visiting Deportivo Alavés in the next league fixture, where the team will look to return to winning ways.
TECHNICAL SHEET:
2 – Celta: Radu; Manu Fernández (Miguel Román, min.78), Starfelt, Marcos Alonso; Sergio Carreira, Hugo Sotelo (El-Abdellaoui, min.78), Ilaix Moriba, Óscar Mingueza (Javi Rodríguez, descanso), Pablo Durán, Borja Iglesias (Iago Aspas, min.70) and Ferran Jutglá (Bryan Zaragoza, min.58).
4 – Barcelona: Szczesny; Eric García, Cubarsí, Araujo, Balde (Gerard Martín, min.86); Dani Olmo (Christensen, min.86), Frenkie de Jong, Fermín, Lamine Yamal (Bernal, min.97), Rashford (Ferran, min.88) and Lewandowski.
Goals: 0 – 1, min.10: Lewandowski, de penalti; 1 – 1, min.11: Sergio Carreira; 1 – 2, min.37: Lewandowski; 2 – 2, min.43: Borja Iglesias; 2 – 3, min.45+4: Lamine Yamal; 2 – 4, min.73: Lewandowski.
Referee: Alberola Rojas. Sent off De Jong (90+4’) for a second yellow card. Booked Miguel Román (89’) for Celta, and Cubarsí (42’), Rashford (87’), and Lewandowski (88’) for Barcelona.
Attendance: Match corresponding to LaLiga EA SPORTS Matchday 12, played at Abanca Balaídos before 21,887 spectators.
