Barcelona welcomed Celta Vigo to Camp Nou on Sunday evening looking to make it 30 games unbeaten in all competitions.
Lionel Messi sent the home side ahead in the 28th minute, but the two teams were on terms at the interval after John Guidetti scored from the penalty spot six minutes before the break.
A quite incredible second period saw Barcelona score five times, however, with a Luis Suarez hat-trick and goals from Ivan Rakitic and Neymar securing all the points for the home team.
Read how it all unfolded in Sports Mole's minute-by-minute live commentary of the action below.
Evening all! Sports Mole's live La Liga coverage continues from Camp Nou as Barcelona welcome Celta Vigo. Both sides were in Copa del Rey semi-final action during the week, but while Barcelona secured their spot in the final, Celta were dumped out by Sevilla. It is back to league matters here and Barcelona will be looking to extend their unbeaten run all competitions, which currently stands at 29 matches.
To suggest that Celta have struggled at Camp Nou in La Liga would be putting it mildly. In fact, Barcelona have been victorious in 37 of the 49 league games between the two teams in this stadium – losing just twice in the process. That said, Celta have a recent Camp Nou victory to their name, having recorded a 1-0 win when the pair met last season. Can they repeat that triumph?!
Celta were also 4-1 winners when the pair met in Vigo earlier this season. Iago Aspas, Nolito and John Guidetti were all on the scoresheet for Eduardo Berizzo's side, while Neymar hit a consolation for the Catalan outfit. That loss was Barcelona's first in the league this season and they will be wary of a Celta team that do tend to raise their performance levels when they come up against the top sides.
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Right, let me bring you up-to-speed with the all-important team news for this match. As expected, both Luis Enrique and Eduardo Berizzo have rung the changes from the Copa del Rey...
TEAMS:
BARCA: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Roberto, Iniesta, Busquets; Neymar, Suarez, Messi
CELTA: Sergio; Jonny, Mallo, Cabral, Planas; Radoja, Hernandez; Wass, Beauvue, Sene; Guidetti
As expected, Barcelona head coach Luis Enrique has recalled all of his big guns, with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar all returning to the attack. Ten of the outfield XI picked themselves for this match, but Enrique has selected in-form Spanish midfielder Sergi Roberto ahead of Ivan Rakitic in the middle of the park. The latter is on a bench that also includes Aleix Vidal and Arda Turan.
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Celta, meanwhile, have five key players suspended for this match, with Sergi Gomez, Iago Aspas, Fabian Orellana and Theo Bongonda all unavailable. Barcelona target Nolito is also still out injured, leaving Berizzo desperately short of options in the final third of the field. John Guidetti will lead the line with support from Josep Sene, while January signing Claudio Beauvue is also in the XI here.
So there we have it. The two teams are in and we are now little under 40 minutes from kickoff at Camp Nou. Barcelona will enter this match top of the La Liga table on 54 points, but they are now just one point ahead of second-place Real Madrid, who beat Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. That said, the Spanish champions now have two games in hand over Los Blancos in the top flight.
Atletico, meanwhile, have dropped to third, but Diego Simeone's side would return to second and move level on points with Barcelona should they beat Getafe. That particular Madrid derby is heading for full-time and Atletico currently lead 1-0 courtesy of an early Fernando Torres strike.
Barcelona set a club-record on Wednesday when they made it 29 games unbeaten in all competitions, which is a run of form that stretches back to the start of October, when they lost at Sevilla in the league. It appeared that they would suffer defeat at Valencia on Wednesday, but 19-year-old Wilfrid Kaptoum scored his first senior goal late on to make it 1-1. Barcelona did not win on the night, but they made it through to the final 8-1 on aggregate. Their opponents will be Sevilla.
It is also now 15 league games since Barcelona were beaten and they have recorded 12 wins during that incredible run. There is no question that Enrique's side were far from their best last weekend against basement side Levante, but they did enough to secure a 2-0 win, which kept them in charge of their own destiny in the league. It is up to Atletico, who are still beating Getafe 1-0, and Real Madrid to keep pace with Barcelona, who just cannot stop winning football matches at the moment.
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Barcelona's game in hand, which is down to their participation in the Club World Cup in December, will take place on Wednesday, when they travel to Sporting Gijon. Victory tonight and another win against Gijon would move the Catalan side seven points clear of Real Madrid, which is a large gap at this stage.
RESULT! Atletico have just beaten Getafe 1-0. That result has seen Diego Simeone's side regain second position from Real Madrid and go level on points (54) with Barcelona.
Barcelona will then travel to Las Palmas next weekend and in truth, it would be a major surprise if they dropped points there. With a spot in the Copa del Rey final secured and a firm grip on first place in the league, the small matter of Champions League football will take centre-stage later this month. On February 23, Barcelona will travel to Arsenal for the first leg of their last-16 clash.
Enrique's side then have three league games against Rayo Vallecano, Eibar and Getafe, before the second leg against Arsenal takes place on March 16. It is actually difficult to see where Barcelona's next defeat will occur, although they have a tough end to March and start to April, which includes league games away to Villarreal and at home to Real Madrid. Little over 15 minutes until kickoff here!
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As for Celta, they will enter this match off the back of a 2-2 draw against Sevilla in the second leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Thursday. It was a brave effort after losing the first leg 4-0, but they were never likely to turn it around. The player that scored both of their goals – Aspas – is suspended tonight.
Berizzo's side currently sit eighth in the La Liga table, just five points off fifth-place Sevilla, who they held to a 1-1 draw last weekend. Villarreal are currently in charge of fourth position, however, and it does appear that Celta will battle the likes of Sevilla, Bilbao and Eibar for a spot in the Europa League.
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Celta have only won one of their last seven in the league and that was a narrow home victory over Levante last month. They lost away to both Rayo Vallecano and Las Palmas at the end of January, before as mentioned, drawing with Sevilla last weekend. The Galician side are also currently on their worst run away from home in the league – three straight defeats – since January 2015.
Finding the back of the net has not been too much of a problem for Celta this season, with Berizzo's team hitting 34 league goals in 23 matches, which was the same record as second-place Atletico ahead of this weekend's fixtures. They have shipped 36 down the other end, however, which is among the poorer records in the division, especially when taking out the bottom three.
A reminder of the two teams for tonight...
BARCA: Bravo; Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba; Roberto, Iniesta, Busquets; Neymar, Suarez, Messi
CELTA: Sergio; Jonny, Mallo, Cabral, Planas; Radoja, Hernandez; Wass, Beauvue, Sene; Guidetti
KICKOFF! Here we go then - Barcelona are the strong favourites for this match, but Celta Vigo know what it takes to win at Camp Nou. It is the away side that kick things off tonight...
... you just get the feeling that Celta will need to get through the opening 10, 15 minutes here without conceding if they are to stand any chance of securing a positive result. It is a massive ask, but it can be done. As expected, Barcelona have taken control of the possession in the early moments here.
Not an awful lot to report in terms of major incidents in the opening four minutes, but Celta are pressing high up the field, which has forced the home side to drop a little deeper at Camp Nou.
Celta have actually made a pretty good start to this match, with Guidetti's power in the final third causing Barcelona some problems. Indeed, the first corner of the match comes to the visitors.
CHANCE! The first chance of the match falls to Celta as Sene meets a high ball outside the Barcelona box, but his low strike just misses the post. Really confident opening from the visitors!
Not quite happening for the home side at the moment as Celta continue to press high and force Barcelona into a few sloppy passes. The difference is that Barcelona could be poor for 70, 80 minutes and one of Neymar, Suarez or Messi will do something to secure all the points.
BOOKING! Cabral (Celta) is booked for pulling Suarez to the deck.
Barcelona have a free kick in a very dangerous position here...
... CLOSE! Messi's low free kick just misses the post!
Celta might be without a number of key players for this match, but they are full of confidence at the moment as they continue to switch the ball from left to right. Very good 14 minutes for Celta.
SAVE! Neymar looks certain to send Barcelona ahead after collecting a super pass from Iniesta, but Sergio Alvarez is out his goal to make a fine stop. Much better from the hosts.
Alba stretches in a challenge with Beauvue and does not look comfortable at all here...
... false alarm. Alba is back on his feet and Barcelona are on the front foot once again.
Luis Enrique has emerged from the dug-out to have a closer look at matters on the field. Celta are not exactly causing Barcelona too many problems, but the visitors are comfortable at the back.
CHANCE! Messi combines with Neymar before attempting to poke the ball past Alvarez from inside the box, but Jonny is across to make the challenge and Celta's goalkeeper can collect.
So far, so good for Celta as they make the 22nd minute having not conceded. Barcelona have had chances, but it is difficult to say that it has been a constant flow of pressure from the home side.
Pass, pass, pass from the home side as they attempt to undo this Celta back-line, which is far from at full strength. Iniesta takes his time to recover from a challenge from Radoja, but eventually returns to his feet. A Messi free kick again causes problems in the Celta box, but Alvarez manages to gather.
CHANCE! Easily the best chance of the match thus far as Wass does brilliantly to beat two players before finding Planas, but the full-back's powerful strike is saved by the diving Bravo!
BOOKING! Planas (Celta) is booked for a late challenge on Suarez.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Celta (Messi)
Stunning, just stunning. Messi curls a beautiful free kick into the top corner to send Barcelona ahead. The Celta goalkeeper did his best to make contact, but it was just too good from Messi.
Barcelona are now in the mood and another super phase of play ends with Messi attempting to chip Alvarez, but it was always comfortable for the Celta stopper, who might well find himself very busy in the final 15 minutes of this first period. Celta just need to find a way to stay in this match.
SAVE! Bravo is once again forced to fly across his goal to keep out a wonderful volley from Beauvue, who decided to have a go from a wide angle! Some technique to do that!
Little under 10 minutes of the first period remaining and Barcelona are now comfortable after struggling to undo Celta in the early moments. The visitors have had some half-chances, however, and will feel that they can cause problems as play develops. Messi has been the difference thus far.
Half-chance for the home side as Alba has a go from distance after a short clearance from Cabral, but the left-back's effort was always curling away from goal. Still 1-0 Barcelona at Camp Nou.
PENALTY CELTA!
Celta are awarded a penalty as Alba clips Guidetti's heels inside the box!
GOAL! Barcelona 1-1 Celta (Guidetti, pen)
Guidetti steps up and fires his effort into the bottom corner! Super finish!
Celta deserve that goal, make no mistake about it. They have been very good in this first period and credit must go to Guidetti, who has not stopped running and working in this first 42 minutes.
BOOKING! Mallo (Barcelona) is booked for a late challenge on Neymar.
Neymar strikes a free kick from distance, but his effort was always over the crossbar.
CHANCE! Neymar has another super chance to send Barcelona back ahead in this match, but the Brazilian fires over the crossbar from the edge of the box!
HALF-TIME: Barcelona 1-1 Celta
So there we have it. The referee brings the first period to a close with the two teams level at 1-1. Barcelona took the lead in the 28th minute courtesy of a super free kick from Messi, but a Guidetti penalty in the 39th minute levelled the scores. Celta have been very impressive thus far tonight!
STATISTICS! Barcelona have had more of the possession with 61%, while they have had eight attempts - three of which were on target. Celta, however, have also had three attempts on target during what was an impressive first-half performance. Celta boss Berizzo, however, will be slightly concerned that three members of his back four tonight have already picked up yellow cards!
BENCH WATCH! Barcelona have been a little flat in the final third tonight and Enrique may well look to his bench in a bid to freshen it up. The Spaniard has plenty of options in the shape of Rakitic, Turan, Vidal and Munir. Celta, meanwhile, have the likes of Diop, Diaz and Drazic on their bench here.
Messi's free kick in the 28th minute was just sensational.
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RESTART! Here we go then - both sets of players re-join us on the pitch for the second period. Can Celta produce an excellent result tonight? We shall see! Barcelona resume the action...
... no changes from either side at the break, which is not too much of a surprise. However, I suspect that both managers will already have alterations in mind. Neymar almost gobbles up an early chance in the second half, but his final touch inside the box is too strong and Alvarez collects.
POST! Stunning feet from Neymar as the Brazilian produces a wonderful piece of skill before setting up Suarez with a clever pass, but the Uruguayan's effort hits the post!
Barcelona have come out firing in this second period and Celta just need to find a way to hold on. A second goal for the home side at this stage of events could easily lead to three or four!
Alvarez is going to have a busy second period for Celta, but the stopper has been comfortable from high balls and has been able to take the pressure off his defence in the last couple of moments.
Celta just cannot seem to get out at the moment and when they do, Barcelona are just nicking possession and attacking once again. It is difficult to put up with this kind of constant pressure.
Guidetti has been terrific for Celta tonight and the striker seems to be getting under the skin of Barcelona's defence, which the Swede will be delighted with. It means he has been effective!
SAVE! Super goalkeeping from Alvarez as the Celta stopper gets down to keep out a strike from Iniesta, which looked to be finding the back of the net. More Barcelona pressure!
Neymar takes on three defenders before attempting to feed one into the top corner, but his effort is over the crossbar. Little over 30 minutes remaining and Celta are still holding the home side here.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-1 Celta (Suarez)
Barcelona regain the lead just before the hour and it had been coming. A stunning lofted pass from Messi falls to Suarez and the striker makes no mistake as he half-volleys past Alvarez!
BARCELONA SUBS! Vidal, Rakitic replace Alves, Roberto for the hosts.
Celta will always be in the game at 2-1, but a third for Barcelona might well be curtains. There is still plenty of time for either side to find the back of the net. It has been a fascinating game to watch!
CELTA SUB! Hernandez is replaced by Diaz for the away team.
Another half-chance for the away side as Guidetti forces Mascherano into a mistake inside the Barcelona box, but the Swedish striker can only fire over the crossbar from a wide angle.
CHANCE! Another chance for the visitors as Guidetti sets up Wass inside the Barcelona box, but the midfielder misses the target. Celta are very much still in this game!
The pace of the match has just slowed in the last few minutes, with Barcelona prepared to take the sting out of it, which is exactly what they need to do in order to frustrate the visitors here.
CHANCE! Yet another chance for the away side as Wass finds time and space inside the Barcelona box, but his effort is straight at Bravo! He had to score from there!
BOOKING! Sene (Celta) is booked for a foul on Vidal.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-1 Celta (Suarez)
Barcelona make sure of the points as Messi slides a super pass into Neymar, who rounds the goalkeeper and squares for Suarez, who taps home from close range for 3-1!
CELTA SUB! Drazic replaces Guidetti for the away team.
BARCELONA SUB! Iniesta is replaced by Turan for the home side.
CHANCE! Neymar comes close to netting his first of the match after poking one past Alvarez, but Cabral is on the line to clear. Barcelona are in full flow at the moment here.
PENALTY BARCELONA!
Barcelona have a penalty as Messi is felled by Jonny inside the box!
GOAL! Barcelona 4-1 Celta (Suarez)
OH MY WORD! Messi passes, yes passes, the penalty to Suarez, who fires home from close range. I have only ever seen that once before - Robert Pires? Arsenal? Good grief that is serious stuff!
CELTA SUB! Wass is replaced by Diop.
GOAL! Barcelona 5-1 Celta (Rakitic)
Suarez plays in Rakitic over the top and the Croatian loops his effort over Alvarez for five.
I think we are all going to need some time to recover from the last 15 minutes here!
Celta just cannot wait for this game to end and I do not blame them.
GOAL! Barcelona 6-1 Celta (Neymar)
Neymar gets in on the act late on as the Brazilian collects a stunning pass from Suarez before chipping the Celta goalkeeper from close range. It is six of the best for the home team!
FULL-TIME: Barcelona 6-1 Celta
I am going to need to have a lie down after that. Celta were so impressive for so long, but they were utterly blown away in that second period. Barcelona record all the points to continue their unbeaten run, which stands at 30 games. Thanks for joining Sports Mole for the action. Until next time!
Written by
Matt Law
Matt Law
