Barcelona went into the international break with a bad taste in their mouths after a defeat by Real Sociedad in which they failed to produce a shot on target for the first time in 10 years and saw a Robert Lewandowski goal controversially ruled offside.
Their return was not much better. Hansi Flick’s team let two points slip as they drew 2-2 with Celta Vigo, conceding goals in the 84th and 86th minute. They were never really in control at the Balaidos stadium and the best thing from Barca’s perspective was the result.
Goals from Raphinha and Lewandowski looked to have secured a valuable win for Barca at a difficult ground. But Celta stayed in it and those late goals from Alfon Gonzalez and Hugo Alvarez brought the sides level after Marc Casado was sent off with two yellow cards.
Here, we analyse the main talking points.
Barcelona were without Yamal again as the 17-year-old winger continued his recovery from the ankle injury that kept him out of the recent Spain squad. And once again, his absence was noticeable.
The Catalans have played two games without Yamal this season — against Real Sociedad and here at Celta — and have failed to win both. The early evidence is that Barca lack creativity in their forward line without him.
Here they only had four shots on target, two of which ended in goals. Barca looked to have been saved by the efficiency of their two in-form forwards in Raphinha and Lewandowski, both of whom took advantage of mistakes by the Celta defence to score.
Lewandowski scored again but Barca lacked creativity (Jose Manuel Alvarez Rey/JAR Sport Images/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Both the Brazilian winger and the Polish striker are enjoying their best seasons yet at Barca. Raphinha has gone from a player who they previously were willing to listen to transfer offers for to one who wears the captain’s armband with pride. He played in his natural position on the right wing with Yamal out, while Dani Olmo occupied the left flank.
Lewandowski, meanwhile, made it 20 goals in 18 games across all competitions this season. Not even halfway through the season, he is just six goals short of equalling his tally from last term.
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But despite those figures, Barca appear unable to create something out of nothing without Yamal. They lack depth and unpredictability — his return cannot come soon enough.
Flick’s midfield in disarray
Barcelona’s main problem was their lack of organisation. Celta are a team who make life uncomfortable for their opponents and they did exactly that to Barca.
Other sides have got the hang of Flick’s offside trap, which no longer works as effectively as it did in their 4-0 win against Real Madrid or their 4-1 victory against Bayern Munich. We did not see the high pressing that has characterised Flick’s Barca this season.
The midfielders in particular lacked connection — even though the line-up looked promising when it was announced. Gavi returned to the starting XI after 13 months away due to his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury and accompanied Pedri and Casado.
The best news here was Gavi, who played well considering it was the first time he had featured for 75 minutes since his injury. But individually and collectively, Barca found themselves in disarray.
There was a lack of calm on the ball and, when Pedri was replaced in the second half, the disorganisation became even more noticeable.
It was a back-and-forth game in general and Barca looked to have saved themselves. But then came the closing period, when Celta punished them for their mistakes.
Needless mistakes
It said everything that many Barcelona fans will feel as if they gained a point rather than lost two, despite being 2-0 up until the 84th minute — with several unnecessary mistakes sealing their fate.
They experienced a significant let-off before half-time, when left-back Gerard Martin was miraculously spared a red card. He was shown his first yellow card in the second minute but escaped another for a strong challenge on Iago Aspas that infuriated Balaidos. The Celta captain was the one who saw yellow for protesting and Martin was replaced by Hector Fort at the break.
Aspas was furious after Martin stayed on the pitch (Octavio Passos/Getty Images)
It did not stop Barca from going down to 10 men. Casado was cautioned for hauling down Gonzalez in the 75th minute and was shown a second yellow for an off-the-ball challenge on Ilaix Moriba seven minutes later. The midfielder, who has otherwise been excellent this season, apologised on social media.
“First of all, I apologise to both the team and the fans, these are decisions that are made in milliseconds and it is clear that today’s decision was not the right one,” he said on Instagram.
Jules Kounde, whose poor control and backpass led to Celta’s first goal, also fronted up to the media.
“I accept that today I wasn’t in the game,” the Frenchman told broadcaster DAZN. “It was partly my fault that we drew the game.”
And Flick was critical of his team in his press conference.
“It wasn’t 10 minutes — we played a really bad game,” he said. “I’m going to speak honestly: we didn’t see what we wanted to see. Our ball control was not good, with a lot of mistakes also in the first half.
“It’s not how we are used to playing. It wasn’t a good game. We have to talk about it and change it.”
What’s next for Barcelona?
Thursday, November 26: Brest (home), Champions League, 9pm CET (8pm BST/3pm ET)
(Top photo by Miguel Riopa/AFP via Getty Images)
