Barcelona 6-1 Celta Vigo
matches this season
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez combined to score
an audacious penalty as La Liga leaders
Barcelona thrashed Celta Vigo to move three
points clear.
With Barca leading 3-1, Messi nudged the spot-kick
forward and to his right for Suarez to run into the
area and side-foot in to complete his hat-trick.
Messi opened the scoring with a sublime free-kick
before Celta striker John Guidetti drilled in a penalty
to level.
After Suarez's second-half treble, Ivan Rakitic and
Neymar sealed the rout.
The defending champions still have a game in hand
on nearest rivals Atletico Madrid, with Real Madrid
four points adrift of Barca in third.
Relive Barca's entertaining win against Celta
How the penalty unfolded
Stylish Barca extend unbeaten run
Barcelona had not been beaten in 29 previous
matches in all competitions before the visit of a Celta
team which had won two of the past three meetings
between the sides.
Celta, who Luis Enrique left to manage Barca in May
2014, earned a surprise 1-0 win at the Nou Camp
last season and thrashed their former boss's side in
a 4-1 home success in September.
And they will have been quietly confident of causing
another upset as they held their hosts 1-1 at the
break.
Barca failed to find their rhythm in the first half,
giving no indication to the virtually silent home
supporters of what excitement would unfold in the
second half.
Suarez clipped in Messi's pass to put Barca back in
front just before the hour and bundled in Neymar's
cross on the goal-line for his second.
The Uruguay striker completed a 22-minute hat-trick
by converting Messi's audacious penalty, before
substitute Rakitic's lob and Neymar's cool finish
extended their unbeaten run to 30 matches.
Selfless Messi delays landmark goal
If Messi had converted the penalty, it would have
been his 300th La Liga goal for Barcelona.
But did his selfless act in teeing up Suarez mean that
he would gain an unwanted statistic - another
'missed' penalty?
It was a tongue-in-cheek question posed by former
Spanish referee Eduardo Iturralde on Twitter, where
it was spread to a wider audience by Guardian
football writer Sid Lowe.
"Messi goes down as having a penalty not scored and
an assist," confirmed football statisticians Opta.
Was it meant for Neymar and not Suarez?
That's what Brazil forward Neymar claimed
afterwards.
"We practised the penalty - it was for me, but Luis
was closer and scored," he said. "It doesn't matter,
he scored so it worked well.
"We love each other a lot and that friendship is the
most important thing, no matter who scores the
goals."
I would have trodden on the ball - Luis Enrique
The penalty evoked memories of when Barca legend
Johan Cruyff played a one-two with Ajax team-mate
Jesper Olsen to score from the spot in 1982, plus a
less successful attempt by Arsenal pair Robert
Pires and Thierry Henry in 2005.
"We all remember Cruyff's goal," said Barca boss
Luis Enrique. "I wouldn't dare to do it because I
would tread on the ball.
"Some will like it, some won't, but as Barca players
and members of the club, on top of winning titles we
try to enjoy our football in a spectacular way."
Atletico stay in touch
Second-placed Atletico Madrid briefly moved level
with Barcelona following a 1-0 win at Getafe earlier
on Sunday.
Spain striker Fernando Torres tapped in Yannick
Carrasco's low cross from the left after 61 seconds -
and that proved enough for the visitors.
Diego Simeone's team moved back into second at the
expense of Real, who host their neighbours at the
Bernabeu on 27 Februar
Comments
Post a Comment