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Jul 30, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski (9) reacts after making a penalty kick against Manchester City in a tie breaker during a Champions Tour friendly match at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

FC Barcelona’s Hectic Win Against Celta Vigo

Originally posted on Stadium Rant | By Stefania Zajdel | Last updated Nov 10, 2025 8:45 AM ET

After the last round of La Liga, FC Barcelona kept second place, still five points behind their main championship rivals, Real Madrid. With Los Blancos drawing their game against Rayo Vallecano, Blaugrana stood a chance of decreasing the gap. To do so, all they needed to do was defeat Celta Vigo.

A Quick Start

The match between Celta and Barcelona wasted no time before giving the fans some incredibly exciting moments. In just the ninth minute, Marcos Alonso’s mistake led to a penalty being awarded to Blaugrana. Robert Lewandowski, on his return to the starting 11, lined up to take the shot. Despite the goalkeeper throwing himself in the right direction, he managed to convert the chance into the game’s opening goal.

It was a truly dream start for Barcelona… For about one minute. That was how long it took Celta to carry out a counterattack that ended with Sergio Carreira equalizing the score. The Catalan high defense failed them once more. The defenders were too far to stop the right-back from putting the ball in Wojciech Szczęsny’s net.

Back And Forth

For a while, it seemed like the game had levelled off, but Barcelona didn’t let the disappointing state last for long. In the 38th minute, Lewandowski added a second goal to his tally, thanks to Marcus Rashford’s assist. This made him Blaugrana’s best goalscorer of the La Liga season with six goals scored across all games. These are particularly impressive numbers from the Polish number nine, given that the game was only his fourth time playing from the very first minute.

Once again, Celta didn’t remain at a disadvantage for long. Around five minutes after the score changed to 2-1, Borja Iglesias broke through Barcelona’s line of defense. Szczęsny fell short of saving his shot, conceding his second goal of the evening.

Six minutes were added to the standard time, and they turned out to be just what Barcelona needed. Halfway through the added time, Lamine Yamal did what he does best and scored when the team needed him most. This put his team in the lead for the third time that evening. Celta tried to create a counterattack, eager not to go into the break at a disadvantage, but couldn’t finish the action with a goal.

Slowing Down

The hectic pace of the game slowed down considerably in the second half. Both teams tried to change the score but couldn’t quite create the perfect action.

Jul 30, 2024; Orlando, FL, USA; Barcelona forward Robert Lewandowski (9) controls the ball against Manchester City in the second half during a Champions Tour friendly match at Camping World Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-USA TODAY Sports

That was until the 73rd minute, in which the Polish striker scored a beautiful header, increasing Barcelona’s lead. With that, he noted a hat-trick in the game. The goal came after a corner performed by Marcus Rashford, adding yet another assist to the English player’s impressive collection.

This was the last change in the score. The last quarter of the game saw multiple yellow cards for players from both teams. Frankie de Jong received two, resulting in a red card that sent him off the field. Still, no goals were scored. The game ended at 4-2 for the guests.