🇪🇸 Ten-man Barcelona slip in dramatic late draw at Celta Vigo

Hansi Flick-led Barcelona failed to return to winning ways tonight after letting their lead slip late in dramatic fashion in a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.

Scorers: Raphinha 15', Lewandowski 61'; González 84', Álvarez 86'

Captain for the night Raphinha set Barça off and running on the night in the 15th minute after Jules Koundé’s ball over the top found the Brazilian, who danced around Óscar Mingueza before sliding past Vicente Guaita for his 8th league goal of the season.

Celta were certainly up for the fight despite going down a goal, however, with the Galician side threatening Barcelona on the counter, and probably should have done better with a handful of half-chances they created.

This particularly held true in the 39th minute when Jonathan Bamba got the better of Koundé before attempting to pick out the run of Anastasios Douvikas, but could only fluff his squared ball, which Barça calmly dealt with.

Home supporters at the Estadio Abanca Balaídos were left shocked that Celta did not go up a man on the stroke of halftime after Gerard Martin looked to have brought down local hero Iago Aspas while already being on a yellow, but it would be an incandescent Aspas that went into the book instead.

Smartly, Flick replaced Martin with Héctor Fort to begin the second half as Celta continued to push for an equalizer on the break, with their xG outstripping that of the visitors despite Barcelona’s regular possession dominance.

It would appear to be all for nothing though when Robert Lewandowski bagged his 15th La Liga goal and 20th overall in the 2024-25 campaign in the 61st minute.

Raphina won possession near the halfway line before feeding the Polish hitman who adjusted well to regain possession inside the box before seeing his effort glide past Guaita, quieting the Balaídos crowd.

Flick would see his side reduced to ten men in the 82nd minute when Marc Casadó was sent off after receiving a second yellow.

Claudio Giráldez's men would ultimately make them pay, first through substitute Alfonso González, who did well to strip Koundé at the back after the French international was clumsy in possession before reducing the deficit to just one goal.

It would then be a turnaround to write home about two minutes later as Celta smelled blood in the water, with Hugo Álvarez leveling the scoreline at two-all in the 86th minute after a composed finish.

Barça now heads into their midweek Champions League program five points clear of Atlético Madrid while preparing to welcome surprise outfit Brest to Catalunya.

A jubilant Celta ends the night sitting in eleventh but could fall further down the table depending on results tomorrow.

📸 Octavio Passos - 2024 Getty Images