Barcelona-Celta Vigo Encounter Ends In SHOCKING MANNER As Flick's Men End Match With 2-2 Draw

It was a very disappointing night for Barcelona fans once again as Barcelona ended up drawing 2-2 to Celta Vigo away from home. Hansi Flick's men dominated the game from the very start and opened the scoring in the 15th minute thanks to Raphinha. Following Raphinha's goal it was Lewandowski that found the back of the net for FC Barcelona as the Catalans were in complete control. The crisis occurred for Barcelona in the 81st minute as Marc Casado was sent off. 

Following Barcelona's reduction to just 10-men, Celta Vigo managed to put two goals past Hansi Flick's men to snatch away a single point from the game. 

Barcelona Give Away Valuable Points Against Celta Vigo 

Celta Vigo gave 10-man Barcelona a shock by scoring two late goals and snatching a 2-2 draw at home in the Spanish league on Saturday.

Barcelona was minutes away from a win to pad its league lead after Raphinha and Lewandowski had put Barcelona ahead.

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But the game dramatically swung after Barcelona defensive midfielder Marc Casadó was sent off with a second booking in the 81st. Moments later Jules Koundé’s poor control of a ball in his area allowed Alfon González to pick his pocket and give the hosts hope in the 84th minute.

Celta poured forward at Balaidos Stadium and Hugo Álvarez rifled in the 86th-minute equalizer with Barcelona unable to mark the extra man.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick, however, said that he saw it coming since his team had never been able to establish its passing game and was making mistakes even when up 2-0. 

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“It was not only the 10 last minutes, it was the whole match. We played today a really bad game,” Flick said. “The passing game for us was bad. We made a lot of mistakes and at the end we had no confidence with the ball.”

Barcelona Missing Youngster Lamine Yamal?

This was Barcelona’s second straight stumble since Lamine Yamal was sidelined with a right-ankle injury. Barcelona lost 1-0 at Real Sociedad without Yamal before the international break. 

Barcelona is seven points ahead of third-place Real Madrid, which has played two fewer games.

Koundé accepted the blame for what he called his “gross mistake” that helped give Celta hope.

“We didn’t do what we needed to all game, and at the end they made us pay,” Koundé said. “It starts with me. I can’t lose my focus like that. It was a gross mistake that can’t happen. I accept that it was my fault.”

The late rally by Celta came after Raphinha had led Barcelona as he filled in for Yamal on the right side of the front three.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 15th when he ran onto a long pass by Koundé that bounced over left back Óscar Mingueza, cut back to his left foot and fired home. 

Lewandowski doubled the lead in the 61st after Raphinha intercepted a pass by Minqueza and set up his strike partner. The Poland striker scrambled the ball past two defenders before slotting beyond Vicente Guaita.

Lewandowski took his league-leading tally to 15 goals in 14 rounds, while Raphinha has added eight league goals.

Raphinha came close to a second goal that would have made it 3-0 when he hit the post in the 77th, just moments before the wild final stretch when it all crumbled for the visitors.

“We have to learn from this. This can’t happen just because we had a player sent off. But onto the next game,” said Gavi Páez, who started his first match since returning from a serious leg injury last season. 

(With AP Inputs)