Celta Vigo 4-1 Barcelona

Mellow yellow: Barca dejected as Celta celebrate

Celta Vigo beat Barcelona at their own game as they stunned their visitors at Balaídos.
The hosts raced out of the blocks and into a 2-0 lead through former Barcelona winger Nolito and ex-Liverpool man Iago Aspas.



A standing ovation awaited them at half time as they ended a near-perfect first half by going close to 3-0, only to finally get a third when Iago Aspas scored his second from a brilliant counter attack.

Barca were done.

Neymar pulled one back late in proceedings but Celta grabbed a fourth through substitute John Guidetti and were the deserved victors.

So how did they do it? Ed Malyon discusses....

 Celta Vigo have plenty of links with this Barcelona team, not least star forward Nolito who used to play for the Nou Camp side and nearly rejoined them in the summer, but stylistically and looking up the managerial family tree, they come from the same root.

Eduardo Berizzo, the Celta coach, is a disciple of Marcelo Bielsa and takes an attacking, high-pressing game wherever he goes.

The home side had Barcelona on the ropes, and ended up as happy as pigs in... y'know, whatever.
You can see why Luis Enrique might have bought him in the summer, and you can also see why he still might arrive in January.

Arda Turan's registration in the new year will help soften the blow of losing Rafinha to a long-term injury, but Luis Enrique is a huge admirer of Nolito and the former Barca and Benfica winger put in the sort of performance that can seal a decision like the one being mulled over at board level in the Camp Nou corridors.

But on a day when the team was under the cosh and needed something special, their world-famous artillery fired blanks.

Lionel Messi and Neymar both missed good first-half chances. Messi missed a sitter in the opening minutes of the second, then forced a great save from Sergio.

From that effort Barca won a corner. From that corner, Celta broke quickly, Iago Aspas lifted the ball over Javier Mascherano on halfway and raced up the other end of the pitch to make it 3-0.

 Celta Vigo finished the match  4 - 1.

Source. mirror.co.uk