And just like that, Barcelona turned a worrying performance at the worst possible time of the season into a potential title-decider.
Barca’s 4-3 win against Celta Vigo, sealed by a stoppage-time winner from Raphinha, was box office stuff. The very thing that has made Barcelona great this season almost became their downfall — Hansi Flick’s outrageously high defensive line. Celta, led by hat-trick scorer Borja Iglesias, tore the offside trap into pieces. Ferran Torres scored the opener but then Iglesias took control, putting the visitors 3-1 up after 62 minutes.
Then, even more madness unfolded.
Flick brought on substitutes Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo and they galvanised the team, playing a role in each of Barca’s goals as they turned the game again.
It took Barcelona five minutes to go from 3-1 down to 3-3. Olmo cut the deficit to one goal, then Yamal sent a peach of a cross for Raphinha to head in the equaliser. Montjuic was blaring, momentum had been built, and the crowd energised Barcelona’s players for one final push.
Olmo’s goal started Barcelona’s comeback (Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)
While Barcelona were trying to get the winner, Celta missed two clear chances through Pablo Duran and Oscar Mingueza, from which both claimed potential penalties. The visitors started wasting time. The referee added on eight minutes, and in the fourth of them, Montjuic erupted. Olmo was brought down in Celta’s box but, despite the roars from the stadium, referee Mario Melero Lopez did not give in.
Heads were gone at this point, with Barcelona’s goalkeeping coach Jose Ramon de la Fuente the prime example. He was among the backroom staff members who ran their way out of the bench on the sidelines to claim the penalty. In complete desperation, De la Fuente smashed his electronic tablet into the pitch.
The game kept going for an extra minute, until the video assistant referee asked Melero Lopez to check the footage on the screen. Celta’s defender Yoel Lago had stamped on Olmo’s foot before bringing him down. There was no way back: a clear penalty in the 98th minute.
Once again, Raphinha showed why he is a Ballon d’Or candidate, converting the spot kick to make it 4-3.
Raphinha scores his stoppage-time penalty (Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
Barcelona won, but their performance was ultimately far from great. Celta were the better team for long spells, and nobody on that pitch could argue their 3-1 lead in the second half was not deserved.
Flick’s men were victims of their own calamitous mistakes. Wojciech Szczesny mis-timed his attempt to save a cross and gave away an open goal for Iglesias’ first goal. Frenkie de Jong and Inigo Martinez were all over the place for the second one, failing to clear a long ball straight from Celta’s defence. And it was Pedri who lost possession to Ilaix Moriba in the middle of the park, which allowed him to play in Iglesias for his third of the day.
In the middle of all this, Szczesny made multiple saves that stopped Barcelona from looking worse, but the fact they managed to win despite everything makes the result an even tougher blow for their title-race rivals and archenemies — Real Madrid.
It’s normally the hope that kills you, and for a moment, people at Madrid had reasons to believe in Barcelona dropping points. But seeing the league leaders getting the win on a very bad day won’t do any favours to a Madrid side that, after their Champions League elimination in mid-week, already have plenty to deal with on and off the pitch.
For Flick, 60, this is as big of a morale boost as they could get, which might be the most precious gift they can receive at this point.
Barcelona’s players are knackered. As part of his video analysis last week, Flick blamed Tuesday’s disappointing performance at Borussia Dortmund on Barca’s hectic schedule in recent weeks and the consequent lack of recovery time.
Turning up for media duties, Flick was the most furious he has been since joining the club last summer.
“The game times we have ahead are a joke,” the manager said before the Celta game. He referred to Barcelona being scheduled to play in Valladolid at 9pm in two weeks, three days before the second leg in their Champions League semi-final tie against Inter. “I would like to see the person who made this assignment and discuss it with them. Those responsible for this have no idea of what it means to our players to get home at 4am, go to sleep at 5am, and keep going from there.”
Flick said Yamal was exhausted, leaving the head coach no choice but to bench him against Celta. Jules Kounde has played in every Barca game this season, which may explain his poor performances over the last week.
But Flick is not offering one bad word about his players in public. He knows that’s the last thing they need at this point, after such a long season, with everything to play for in the coming weeks.
“We showed that the team is there, no matter what, until the end of every match”, he said after the game. “I like to see the team never give up. The feeling is positive.
“Today is one of our greatest comebacks, for sure. It’s one less game and three more points. I love living it like that.”
It’s crunch time of the season, and Flick’s team might not be at its peak. But Barcelona’s team spirit has never been higher than this in the last few years at the club — and while this lasts, there’s room for dreaming big.
(Top photo: Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images)