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Celta Vigo logo
La Liga
Sep 23, 2015 at 7pm UK
 
Barcelona logo

4-1

Nolito (26'), Aspas (30', 56'), Guidetti (83')
FT(HT: 2-0)
Neymar (80')

Player Ratings: Celta Vigo 4-1 Barcelona

Sports Mole looks back at how the players fared in Barcelona's shock 4-1 defeat by Celta Vigo in Balaidos.

Celta Vigo subjected Barcelona to a demoralising 4-1 defeat at Balaidos tonight to end the treble winners' 100% start to the Primera Division season.

Superb goals from Nolito and Iago Aspas helped the hosts into a deserved 2-0 half-time lead, before another from Aspas after the break fattened the advantage.

Neymar finally pulled one back for the Catalans, who were denied by Sergio Alvarez on a host of occasions, before John Guidetti restored the three-goal lead.

Here, Sports Mole looks back on how both sets of players fared.

Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona looks dejected after John Guidetti of Celta Vigo scored his team's fourth goal during the La Liga match between Celta Vigo and FC Barcelona at Estadio Balaidos on September 23, 2015© Getty Images



CELTA VIGO

Goal

Sergio Alvarez: Made a couple of truly world-class saves and if the scoreline looks comfortable, it's because of Alvarez. (9/10)

Defence

Hugo Mallo: Set up Guidetti for the fourth goal, but did not test the makeshift left-back Mathieu as much as he should have. (6/10)

Sergio Gomez: Wonderful defensive performance as he kept Suarez virtually out of the game for the most part, but did run the risk of being sent off after punching the Uruguayan in the back. (7/10)

Gustavo Cabral: Certainly unlucky not to emerge with a clean sheet and he was another who expertly shackled the one-man army that Suarez can be at times. (7/10)

Jonny: Coped well with everything that Barcelona threw at him, but might have been a different story had Alves attacked more often. (6/10)

Midfield

Nemanja Radoja: Replaced Pablo Hernandez in the first XI and more than vindicated Eduardo Berizzo's faith in him with a truly brilliant display in front of Celta's back four. (8/10)

Augusto Fernandez: Harried Iniesta excellently and proved that he was up for it by popping his finger back into place after it was dislocated. (7/10)

Daniel Wass: Like Augusto, constantly pressured the visiting midfield and tried to force errors at every given moment. Excellent midfield display. (7/10)

Attack

Nolito: Did little to dissuade Barcelona from trying to sign him in January with a superb first-half performance, culminating in a brilliant opener, but faded somewhat after the break. (7/10)

Fabián Orellana: Nowhere near as impressive as Nolito and Aspas, but still gave a good account of himself and assisted the first goal. (6/10)

Iago Aspas: Scored two but it could have been at least four. Still, he took both of his goals brilliantly and he certainly looks filled with the type of confidence that perhaps undermined his Liverpool career. (8/10)

Substitutes

Pablo Hernández: Replaced Radoja and kept things ticking over in midfield. (6/10)

John Guidetti: Only had some 12 minutes in which to impress, but succeeded when he volleyed home the fourth goal. (6/10)



BARCELONA

Goal

Marc-Andre ter Stegen: Celta scored from four of their five shots on target, but few will point the finger of blame at the German for any of the goals. (6/10)

Defence

Dani Alves: Guilty of giving Nolito far too much space for the first goal and never really looked like the defender that he is. Also missed a glaring header in the second half. (4/10)

Gerard Pique: Some good moments in the early stages of his comeback following a four-match ban, but was directly responsible for at least two of the goals in what proved a horror show for the centre-back. (3/10)

Javier Mascherano: Bailed out by Pique on a few occasions and was nowhere to be seen when Aspas raced through on goal on both occasions. (5/10)

Jeremy Mathieu: Forced to fill in at left-back after Jordi Alba dropped out of the squad, but managed to do well against Orellana for the most part. (6/10)

Midfield

Sergio Busquets: Guilty of not protecting his back four enough. Subbed on 66 minutes for Rakitic. (4/10)

Sergi Roberto: Subbed off on the 58-minute mark but it could have come much sooner. The youngster had no impact in that midfield whatsoever.(4/10)

Andres Iniesta: Some good and bad moments, but the negatives outweigh the positives on a night where he made a number of uncharacteristic mistakes. (5/10)

Attack

Neymar: Arguably Barcelona's best attacking player on the night. Scored one, and would have scored several more if not for Alvarez's heroics. (6/10)

Lionel Messi: Provided a wonderful assist for Neymar, but could and should have been on the scoresheet himself after missing a few good chances. (5/10)

Luis Suarez: Only had one clear-cut chance in the 90 minutes and he certainly should have scored. Anonymous for the most part. (4/10)

Substitutes

Munir El Haddadi: Replaced Sergi but never really influenced things, despite having over half-an-hour to do so. (4/10)

Ivan Rakitic: Certainly had the talent to make a difference but struggled to get going. (4/10)

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Celta Vigo's forward Iago Aspas (R) celebrates after scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match Celta Vigo vs FC Barcelona at the Balaidos stadium in Vigo on September 23, 2015
Read Next:
Match Analysis: Celta Vigo 4-1 Barcelona
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Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Real Madrid31246167204778
2Barcelona31217362342870
3GironaGirona31205663392465
4Atletico MadridAtletico31194859362361
5Athletic Bilbao31169651292257
6Real Sociedad311311745331250
7Valencia31138103432247
8Real BetisBetis31111283837145
9Villarreal31109124954-539
10Getafe31912103743-639
11Osasuna31116143644-839
12Las PalmasLas Palmas31107142935-637
13Sevilla31810133944-534
14AlavesAlaves3188152638-1232
15Mallorca31613122536-1131
16Rayo Vallecano31613122538-1331
17Celta Vigo31610153346-1328
18CadizCadiz31413142141-2025
19Granada3138203260-2817
20Almeria31111193062-3214


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