La Liga
Barcelona Prevail Against Celta Vigo
Barcelona ensured that they would head into the winter break at the top of the table with a comfortable 2-0 win over Celta Vigo. First half goals from Ousmane Dembele and Leo Messi put the visitors to the sword. Generally Celta are a very problematic team for Barça to face. In fact, Marc Andre Ter Stegen has conceded more goals against Celta than any other La Liga team he has faced. However, the Catalan giants put up a gritty display to get the highly important 3 points.
Celta have not been at their brilliant best and have had a rather faltering season. This loss means they will go into the break in 10th place, 16 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Dominant First Half for Barça
The Blaugrana sent a message of intent right from the get go. Celta, as usual set up an aggressive high press. However, the Barça players managed to coolly keep possession of the ball. The defense was also relatively solid despite a few nervy moments. The passing was really crisp and accurate. All of the players were able to play the ball out of the back very efficiently. Additionally, in rather unorthodox fashion, Dembele started on the left flank.
The opener came early in the 10th minute for the hosts. Messi found Jordi Alba with a tremendous ball over the top. Alba patiently waited before cutting it back to Messi in typical fashion. Ruben in the Celta Vigo goal spilled Messi’s shot and Dembele pounced to slot home. The game slowed down eventually but right before the break Barça doubled their advantage. Alba received the ball on the flank and threaded a magnificent pass through to Messi who finished brilliantly.
Immense Jordi Alba
Jordi Alba has been among the world’s elite left backs for a while now and he proved why yesterday. A colossal performance from him was a huge factor in getting the win. Due to the presence of so many superstars in the Barça squad, his contributions are often overlooked. But he is also one of the most pivotal players in the squad. He had a part to play in both goals yesterday and he was lively the whole game. Alba had a pass success of 83% and had 90 touches of the ball. ‘El Ferrari’ is certainly one of Barcelona’s crown jewels.
Faltering Celta Vigo
The Sky Blues have had their fair share of troubles this season. Despite being one of the best sides in La Liga, they have won only 5 of their 17 games so far. They have managed to get only 2 wins in their last 5 games. To make matters worse, their talisman Iago Aspas had to leave the pitch due to an injury yesterday in the second half. Aspas has been Celta’s driving force up top. He has scored more goals against Barça in the last 5 seasons than any other player and he has also scored more goals in 2018 than any other Spanish player. With the extent of Aspas’ injury unknown, Miguel Cardoso has a lot of deliberation to do.
Photo credit to FC Barcelona via Twitter
