Celta Vigo edge closer to safety with win over second string Barcelona

Iago Aspas and Maxi Gomez both found the net as Celta Vigo edged closer to La Liga safety with a 2-0 win over a distinctly second string Barcelona side.

Ernesto Valverde made 11 changes to his team for the trip to Balaidos, with Philippe Coutinho, Lionel Messi, Gerard Pique and Luis Suarez, among others, all rested ahead of next week’s Champions League semi final second leg against Liverpool.

Ousmane Dembele was one of the few first team figures to start, but his game ended after just a few minutes, leaving the pitch having pulled up with a muscular injury. That seemed to knock Barca out of their early stride, although neither team created much in the first half.

Celta Vigo thought they had broken the deadlock after 51 minutes when Nestor Araujo converted a rebound from a Jesper Cillessen save, but after a lengthy VAR review the goal was chalked off, much to the hosts’ despair.

But they finally opened the scoring when Gomez struck home a Ryad Boudebouz cross into the middle and they doubled their advantage late on when Aspas converted a penalty kick after a Samuel Umtiti handball in the area.

With next week’s Champions League semi final second leg against Liverpool in mind, Valverde made no fewer than 11 changes to his Barcelona team for this game. One of the few first team players who started was Dembele, who is still regaining match sharpness after injury. It was therefore a serious blow to see the Frenchman pull up after just a few minutes. How badly did Valverde’s call backfire? We’ll find out in the coming days.

The face of Aspas will make the front pages of the Spanish sports dailies tomorrow morning and the contribution of the Celta Vigo forward mustn’t be understated. He played a good game. However, nobody was as troublesome not the Barcelona backline over the 90 minutes as Ryad Boudebouz was. His crossing in particular caused mayhem, assisting one and assisting another that was harshly chalked off.

Celta Vigo - Ruben 6, Mallo 6, Cabral 7, Araujo 7, Olaza 5, Lobotka 6, Okay 7, Boufal 7, Boudebouz 8, Gomez 7, Aspas 8. Subs - Jozabed 5, Mendez 5, Beltran 4.

Barcelona - Cillessen 5, Wague 7, Todibo 6, Umtiti 7, Vermaelen 5, Puig 7, Alena 7, Arthur 5, Dembele 3, Boateng 5, Malcom 5. Subs - Murillo 5, Collado 5, Vidal 5.

5’ Worrying for Dembele! Uh oh. This would be a blow for Barcelona. The French winger looks to have pulled something and it seems that Valverde will be forced into an early change. Indeed, he’s coming off. Not good news.

51’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 1-0 Barcelona: The hosts have taken the lead at the Balaidos crowd erupts! Cabral gets on the end of a corner kick delivery into the middle, Cillessen makes the save from the initial effort, but then Araujo was on hand to bundle into the back of the net! This could go to a VAR review, though.

52’ VAR review! Indeed, as predicted, the referee is going to have a look at this. It is a question of offside. Araujo might have been offside from Cabral's initial header. It's very, very tight!

55’ NO GOAL! A controversial call! That was a lengthy delay as the officials decided whether Araujo was offside. There must have been millimetres in that, but they have chalked the goal off! We are still level.

64’ What a chance! That should have been a Celta Vigo goal! The run from Gomez was perfect, the cross from Boudebouz was just as good, but the centre forward heads straight at Cillessen!

67’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 1-0 Barcelona: Finally, the breakthrough for Celta Vigo! This one stands! Boudebouz plays the cross into the penalty area, Gomez gets on the end of it and sends a low strike on the stretch past Cillessen and into the back of the net! A massive goal for the home team!

86’ Handball? The referee has walked over to take a look at a potential handball inside the area on the VAR screens. Was that a handball from Wague? It certainly struck his arm, but it was very close range.

87’ PENALTY KICK TO CELTA VIGO! The referee points to the spot after the VAR review! He saw a handball from Wague.

88’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 2-0 Barcelona: There's the goal that should secure the points for Celta Vigo! Their main man, Aspas, grabbed the ball after the award of the penalty kick and he sent Cillessen the wrong way from the spot. Celta Vigo have surely got the win they so desperately wanted.

Iago Aspas has scored seven goals in his last five games and has 17 goals for the season.

Carles Alena attempted 44 passes in the first half, completing 41 - 25 more than any Celta Vigo player.