Robert Lewandowski scored a quickfire double earlier than João Cancelo sealed a last-gasp 3-2 win for Barcelona over Celta Vigo in a LaLiga conflict on the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on Saturday.
The win provisionally strikes Barcelona to the highest of the league standings with 16 factors from six video games, one level forward of Real Madrid who face native rivals Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Celta are seventeenth.
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“It was a brutal comeback. We performed with religion, with braveness, though we had been a bit sloppy at instances,” Barcelona supervisor Xavi Hernandez stated.
“The circulation wasn’t the identical as in the previous couple of video games. It is a comeback primarily based on the need to win. When you do not play nicely, you need to pull this stuff out.”
Barcelona, contemporary off successive 5-0 wins over Antwerp and Real Betis, began nicely however it was Celta who had the primary actual alternative of the match, with Iago Aspas drawing a pointy save from Marc-André ter Stegen.
The guests continued to press ahead and had been rewarded with the opener within the nineteenth minute, when Jörgen Strand Larsen opened his physique and curled a right-footed shot past Ter Stegen’s attain after being performed by way of by Luca de la Torre.
Buoyed up by the purpose, Celta settled into a snug sample as they sat again and allowed Barcelona to maintain possession, whereas intermittently launching swift counter-attacks that carved by way of the hosts’ shaky defence with ease.
Strand Larsen practically doubled his tally simply earlier than half-time however the Norwegian’s bullet header was thwarted by Ter Stegen.
Xavi Hernandez introduced on Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araújo on the break, with Barcelona’s formation switching from two central defenders to 3 on the again, however whereas the change introduced cohesion in assault, their defence was as soon as once more discovered missing.
Substitute Anastasios Douvikas gave Celta a two-goal cushion 10 minutes after approaching when he capped off a sweeping transfer by coolly slotting the ball within the backside nook.
Celta took their foot off the fuel they usually had been punished when Lewandowski scored twice within the span of 4 minutes, chipping keeper Iván Villar with a deft end for his first earlier than delivering Cancelo’s low cross to degree the scores within the eighty fifth minute.
Cancelo then ghosted between two Celta defenders to get on the top of Gavi‘s inch-perfect cross to grab victory from the jaws of defeat and seal a fifth straight league win for Barca.