Barça Triumphs Over Celta Vigo with Lewandowski’s Stunning Hat Trick

After Villarreal’s victory against Espanyol and Real Madrid’s draw with Vallecano, FC Barcelona faced a crucial match in Vigo, where they sought to avoid any mistakes. Vigo had not lost since September 28, and for this match, Hansi Flick brought Robert Lewandowski back into the starting lineup, alongside Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford. Meanwhile, Borja Iglesias led the attack for the opposing side, having not scored in La Liga for a month and a half.

Ten minutes into the game, referee Javier Alberola awarded a penalty after Marcos Alonso handled the ball in the area. Lewandowski took advantage, scoring to give Barcelona the lead (10’, 0-1). However, Vigo surprised them just a minute later, equalizing through Carreira (11’, 1-1). The match saw both teams trading blows until Barcelona took the lead again with a well-placed cross from Rashford, allowing Lewandowski to score his second goal (37’, 1-2). This lead was again short-lived, with Iglesias leveling the match for Celta just before half-time (43’, 2-2). Just when it seemed Vigo had the upper hand, Lamine Yamal capitalized on a defensive error to score another goal for Barcelona right before the half ended (45+4’, 2-3).

Barcelona Narrows the Gap to Real Madrid

In the second half, FC Barcelona took control, dominating the play and limiting Celta to just one shot. Lewandowski, in superb form, completed his hat-trick with a powerful header from another excellent cross by Rashford (73’, 2-4). Barcelona enjoyed a relatively calm finish to the match, though they ended up with ten players after Frenkie de Jong received a red card (90+4’).

Despite the late setback, Barcelona fulfilled their mission, reclaiming second place in the La Liga standings and closing the gap to Real Madrid to three points. Meanwhile, Celta de Vigo suffered their first defeat in six weeks and currently sits in the 13th position.