Barcelona Pulls Off Dramatic Comeback to Beat Celta Vigo 3-2
In a thrilling football showdown at the Olympic Stadium, Barcelona rallied from a two-goal deficit to stun Celta Vigo 3-2, denying Rafa Benitez's squad a memorable victory.
On loan from Manchester City, Joao Cancelo emerged as the last-minute hero, assisting Robert Lewandowski for the second goal and scoring the game-winning third on the 89th minute.
'I didn't have a good performance today,' Cancelo humbly admitted after the win. 'I made several unusual mistakes, but you must stay focused, and in the end, I was able to contribute to our victory.'
The excitement began when Celta Vigo took an early lead in the first half through Jorge Strand Larssen. At one point in the second half, they outshot Barcelona four to one.
Xavi introduced 16-year-old Lamine Yamal and Ronald Araujo at halftime, but it had little effect as Greek forward Anastasios Douvikas extended Celta Vigo's lead to 2-0 after an assist from Iago Aspas.
However, Aspas began to tire and exited the game with ten minutes remaining, which marked a turning point.
Joao Felix delivered a brilliant pass to Lewandowski, who executed an exquisite finish over the goalkeeper, reducing the deficit to 2-1.
Cancelo then exploited a gap in Celta's defense to set up Lewandowski for his second goal and the equalizer. It became clear that Barcelona was on the path to victory.
Although seven additional minutes were added, Barcelona secured their victory with only 60 seconds left as Cancelo scored after receiving a pass from Gavi.
The result puts Barcelona on top as they head into the upcoming Madrid derby, brimming with confidence due to the stellar performances of Cancelo and Felix.
For Benitez's Celta Vigo, there were numerous positives to take from the match, but, unfortunately, no points to show for it. Oscar Mingueza, who had a late opportunity to level the score, lamented, 'We cannot afford to be 2-0 up in games and end up with nothing.'
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