FC Barcelona 4–3 Celta Vigo Player Ratings: Borja Iglesias’ Hattrick in Vain as Barcelona Complete the Comeback in Style

It was a goal fest at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, as Barcelona completed the turnaround with a 4-3 victory over Celta Vigo, with Ferran Torres, Dani Olmo, and a brace for Raphinha scoring goals for the hosts and a hat-trick for Borja Iglesias for the visitors. Barcelona will be relieved that they won the game, as they are now 7 points above Real Madrid with an extra game played. Celta Vigo remain in 7th place and will be dreaming of playing European football next season.

Hansi Flick makes a major change to the side, resting the wunderkind Lamine Yamal, with Ferran Torres playing on the left and Raphinha on the right. Celta surprisingly leave captain and talisman Aspas on the bench, despite him having a stellar record against Barcelona.

Barcelona started on the front foot with Robert Lewandowski’s strike seconds after kick-off, just going wide. Their dominance paid off as in the 12th minute, Ferran Torres’s excellent run and a low shot into the bottom left corner left Guaita helpless.

But, to everyone’s surprise, Celta Vigo hit back very quickly as Borja Iglesias capitalized on a mix-up from the backline of the hosts, and comfortably placed it in the back of the net to level things. Both sides then had some good chances to score, but the game ended on level terms after the end of the first half.

The second half, to everyone’s surprise, Celta Vigo took the lead again as Yoel Lago’s hopeful pass upfield from inside his box, and a Barcelona mistake saw his pass reach Borja Iglesias, who made a run into the box and finished it cleanly into the bottom left corner.

A few minutes later, another shoddy Barcelona defensive moment led to Iglesias getting the ball, who coolly finished it off again to get his hat-trick. But, Barcelona hit back quickly as Raphinha set Dani Olmo up, who did not make a mistake and beat Guaita to pull one back.

The hosts scored the equaliser again, as the substitute Lamine Yamal set Raphinha up excellently, who scored his first headed goal of the season. Barcelona got some chances to score the winner, but unfortunately, they struggled to finish them off. But, they got a late penalty in the dying minutes, as Dani Olmo won it for the hosts, which Raphinha converted with ease to get all three points for his team.

The next fixture for both sides will be at their respective home grounds as Barcelona will be playing against Mallorca whereas Celta Vigo will lock horns against Villarreal.

Here are the FC Barcelona vs Celta Vigo player ratings.

FC Barcelona Player Ratings

GK- Wojciech Szczesny – 6/10

While he made an error that led to a goal for Celta Vigo, he also made some splendid saves that kept his side in the game.

LB- Gerard Martin – 5/10

Playing as a deputy to Alex Balde, he could not replicate the performances of him as he struggled to offer anything going forward and looked erratic in defense.

CB- Inigo Martinez – 6/10

While it looked like a solid display from the veteran, he struggled to contain Iglesias and made some errors. But he also got a rare assist for a goal today, albeit it was mostly Ferran Torres who did the work.

CB- Pau Cubarsi – 6/10

Some of the passes he pulled off were extraordinary, which were pivotal to the dominating style of play Barcelona plays. However his defense awarness was poor today, as he struggled to contain Iglesias.

RB- Jules Kounde – 6.5/10

A solid performance defensively, backing it up with an equally good run forward. He did not give any space to the opposition’s wide attackers, locking them up comfortably.

CM- Frenkie de Jong – 5.5/10

While he provided balance to the midfield, connecting the defensive structure to the attackers to help his side maintain the rhythm, his defensive error cost a goal for his team. Also, his team could have used his incisive passes today, which he failed to provide.

CM- Pedri – 6.5/10

He was the heart of the midfield as usual, stringing passes from the deep, assisting the other attackers well during the buildup play. But, he looked poor defensively today, making some errors.

CM- Fermin Lopez – 6.5/10

He played well as a box-to-box midfielder, running tirelessly and showing hunger to win the ball. He also tried to take some shots to score, which unfortunately did not come off.

RW- Raphinha – 8.5/10

With Yamal sitting out, he started on the right wing today. It was an electric performance on that flank from him, toying with defenders and linking up excellently with his teammates. As a result, he ended up with a goal and an assist.

ST- Robert Lewandowski – 5.5/10

While he got into some good positions in the box, his finishing looked off as he struggled to convert those chances with ease.

LW- Ferran Torres – 7.5/10

The shark did a fantastic job of creating a chance for himself to score the opening goal of the evening, with a well-taken finish.

SUB- Lamine Yamal – 7/10

The young superstar entered the pitch when his side were a goal down to help them win the match. His impact was clear as he was a menace and set Raphinha up for the third goal.

SUB- Dani Olmo – 7.5/10

He entered the pitch in place of Fermin Lopez as part of an attacking change to chase a goal. He did his job, bagged a goal, and won a penalty.

SUB- Gavi – NA

He was subbed in place of Robert Lewandowski to provide the starter some rest, as he was injured. He got a chance to score a header and give his side the lead, which he failed to do so.

SUB- Eric Garcia – NA

He got run out with a few minutes to go as he came on to replace Gerard Martin at the back.

SUB – Pau Victor – NA

The wonderkid entered with minutes to go to help his team get the winning goal.

Manager- Hansi Flick – 7/10

His team looked very poor defensively as they gave away three truly dreadful goals. However, his side did a fantastic job to fight back to win all three points.

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Celta Vigo Player Ratings

GK- Vicente Guaita – 5.5/10

Despite conceding early, he did a fantastic job of keeping the game competitive as he pulled off some good saves.

LB- Sergio Carreira – 6.5/10

The wingback while struggling to provide anything going forward, he did a decent job defensively to lock down his flank.

CB- Javi Rodriguez – 6/10

The centreback looked decent, especially in possession, trying his best to keep the backline together and stop one of the best attacks in the world.

CB- Yoel Lago – 6.5/10

While there were some moments of lapse in judgment, his overall performance was solid as he looked calm and composed on and off the ball. His long ball got him an assist for the second goal.

CB- Marcos Alonso – 6/10

Playing against his former side, while there were some moments of lapse in judgment, his overall performance was solid as he looked calm and composed on and off the ball.

RB- Pablo Durán – 7/10

The wing-back showed his attacking class on some occasions, especially as his low cross was the reason why his side scored the equaliser for the evening.

CM- Ilaix Moriba – 7/10

The former La Masia product put out a workhorse display as he played a crucial role in winning duels in the midfield and restoring the possession for his side.

CM- Fran Beltrán – 6/10

While he looked comfortable on the ball, he struggled to pass between the lines, maintain the tempo, and dominate the midfield battle.

LW- Williot Swedberg – 6/10

Apart from winning an early free-kick, the wide attacker did not provide anything in the final third, and his end product looked off.

ST- Borja Iglesias – 9.5/10

He did a great job to capitalise on the errors of the backline of the Barcelona’s defense twice to bag himself a hattrick and give the lead for his team.

RW- Iker Losada – 5.5/10

The attacker tried to initiate some counter attacks to make things happen, but he struggled to take them forward. He was unfortunately subbed off at the end of first half as part of a tactical switch.

SUB- Oscar Mingueza – 6/10

Another former La Masia product, he entered the pitch after the end of the first half to provide defensive stability and not concede goals.

SUB- Alfon González – 6/10

He entered the fray late on to replace Swedberg out wide to provide a new perspective to the forward line.

SUB- Iago Aspas – 6/10

The experienced forward replaced the hat-trick hero Borja Iglesias to provide the starter some rest and find the winning goal.

SUB- Fer Lopez – 6/10

He entered the pitch as part of an attacking change to chase a goal.

SUB- Hugo Sotelo – NA

He was sent on as a replacement for Ilaix Moriba for the final minutes of the game.

Manager- Claudio Giráldez – 7.5/10

A historic result for his team, as they did a fantastic job to score three times away from home against a top side. However, a little bit of defensive solidity could have gotten them all three points.

The Sportsdunia Player of The Match Goes To Celta Vigo’s Borja Iglesias.

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