FC Barcelona ended a streak of two consecutive away games without a win in LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 with a thrashing against Celta de Vigo (2-4). The Catalan team overcame a match in a always difficult venue like Balaídos thanks to a hat-trick from Robert Lewandowski and another goal from Lamine Yamal, in addition to two assists from Marcus Rashford
Hansi Flick opted for Pau Cubarsí as a center-back alongside Ronald Araujo, while Eric García took the place of a slightly injured Jules Koundé on the right side. Lewandowski, furthermore, returned to the starting XI in place of Ferran Torres
The Pole, along with Lamine Yamal and Rashford, destroyed Celta's five-man defense. The '9' scored a brace in the first half, while the Englishman provided an assist. Before halftime, Lamine restored the lead for the Catalans in a frenetic first half. In the second half, 'Lewy' sealed the Catalan victory
Barça continues to struggle defensively, but the offensive trident resolves it
The Catalans took the lead in the 10th minute with a penalty scored by Lewandowski, after VAR intervention for a handball inside the box by Marcos Alonso. Barça's lead only lasted 106 minutes, as Sergio Carreira, in the 11th minute, made it 1-1 after breaking the offside trap with a run from his own half.
The equalizer came after a missed opportunity by Rashford. The Englishman, in the 24th minute, hit the post, but **in the 37th minute he redeemed himself with a great cross finished by 'Lewy'** as he entered the six-yard box. The Pole anticipated the center-backs and finished with one touch past Radu.Celta reacted with a great goal from Borja Iglesias in the 43rd minute, assisted by former Barça player Ferran Jutglà, but Barça regained the lead in stoppage time with another notable finish from Lamine.
The '10' took advantage of a half-clearance from Ilaix Moriba, following Rashford's breakthrough against Mingueza, to finish with a left-footed shot to the near post that surprised RaduIn the first 45 minutes, Barça took **13 shots, 7 of them on target, with 65% possession**. The script of recent matches was repeated, with clear dominance from the Blaugrana, but enormous fragility at the back that turns every rival counter-attack into a clear opportunity
Lewandowski extended the lead with his third goal of the night
After the break, coach Claudio Giraldez brought on **Javier Rodríguez in place of Mingueza**, who had been outmatched in the one-on-one against Rashford. Barcelona, on the other hand, kept their XI intact.
The match significantly lowered its tempo compared to the first half, with the Blaugrana side conserving possession more prudently to avoid being caught out at the back. Celta also did not counter-attack with the same speed and, before the hour mark, Bryan Zaragoza came on for Jutglà, who had also caused problems for Balde on the flank.
Later, Iago Aspas would come on for Borja Iglesias. Lamine Yamal continued to be the most active in Barça's attack, always dangerous when receiving the ball positioned on the right. Rashford also did his part on the left, although as the minutes passed, he showed the fatigue of a cold night at Balaídos.
In the 74th minute, Marcus, with a corner from the left that he himself had earned, assisted Lewandowski for his second opportunity of the match. The number 9 headed the ball, anticipating the play at the near post, thus completing **his first hat-trick of the 25/26 season** and his seventh goal in the league.
Barça is 3 points behind Real Madrid
Celta sought to react with the substitutions of El-Abdellaoui and Román for Hugo Sotelo and Manu Fernández, while Flick only tweaked his team in the 85th minute with the substitutions of Christensen and Gerard Martín for Balde and Olmo, respectively. Ferran Torres also came on later for Rashford.
Lamine, in the 88th minute, hit the post on a very clear chance, after a turnover by Marcos Alonso. In the final minutes, there were more scuffles than in the rest of the match, with yellow cards for Rashford, Lewandowski, and Román, the latter for a slap to Christensen. In stoppage time, Frenkie de Jong was sent off for a second yellow card after stepping on Aspas.
In the end, Barcelona takes a deserved and very valuable victory from Vigo that, added to Real Madrid's draw against Rayo (0-0), allows the Catalan team to get within 3 points of the lead. After the November break, the Culés host Athletic, awaiting confirmation of whether the match will be at Spotify Camp Nou or Montjuïc.
Match Report: Celta de Vigo 2-4 FC Barcelona
- Celta de Vigo, 2: Radu; Mingueza (Rodríguez, min. 46), Manu Fernández (Román, min. 78), Starfelt, Marcos Alonso, Carreira; Hugo Sotelo (El-Abdellaoui, min. 78), Ilaix Moriba; Pablo Durán, Jutglà (Zaragoza, min. 58), Borja Iglesias (Aspas, min. 70).
- FC Barcelona, 4: Szczesny; Eric Garcia, Araujo, Cubarsí, Balde (Gerard Martín, min. 85); De Jong, Fermín, Olmo (Christensen, min. 85); Lamine Yamal (Marc Bernal, min. 90+6), Rashford (Ferran, min. 87) y Lewandowski.
- Goals: 0-1, Robert Lewandowski (min. 10, pen.); 1-1, Sergio Carreira (min. 11); 1-2, Robert Lewandowski (min. 37); 2-2, Borja Iglesias (min. 43); 2-3, Lamine Yamal (min. 45+4); 2-4, Robert Lewandowski (min. 74)
- Referee: Javier Alberola Rojas. Booked Pau Cubarsí, Frenkie de Jong, Marcus Rashford and Robert Lewandowski for Barça. In stoppage time, he sent off Frenkie de Jong for a second yellow card. For Celta, only Miguel Román was cautioned. He sanctioned a handball penalty by Marcos Alonso in the first half, warned by VAR.
- Stadium: Balaídos in Vigo (Galicia).
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 12 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.