Barcelona continue to flex their title credentials scoring three goals in 10 minutes to overcome a two goal deficit defeating Celta Vigo 3-2 at the Stade Olympico on Saturday. It looked like Celta were going to secure a massive result in La Liga but a late brace from Robert Lewandowski and an even later winner from Joao Cancelo showed otherwise. Barcelona started the match sluggishly after playing in Champions League midweek, but the introduction of Raphinha turned the game in their favor.
"CANCELOOOOOOOOO!" 😱 pic.twitter.com/L8HydjGtn6
— ESPN+ (@ESPNPlus) September 23, 2023
That turnaround ruined American midfielder Luca De La Torre's chance of playing a key role in an upset over one of the top teams in La Liga. De La Torre nabbed the assist on Jorgen Strand Larsen's opening goal before Anastasios Douvikas doubled Celta's advantage. But, as the old cliche goes, a 2-0 lead is one of the most dangerous leads in sports and, at least today, that turned out to be true. Even with an experienced manager like Rafa Benitez, Celta Vigo weren't able to hold on as Barcelona turned up the pressure.
De La Torre has become a regular in the side after joining Celta Vigo last season and was able to make an impact despite Barcelona controlling possession in the match. Getting an assist and taking two shots, De La Torre kept his eyes forward but defensively is where Benitez will continue to ask more from him. Only winning 33% of his duels, if the American was able to pressure more in the match, it could've helped Velta Vigo hang on to a point.
It's not that this is all on De La Torre, as it's a team game and all of Celta Vigo had a part to play in Barcelona's comeback. There's also just the fact that when Barcelona can score at will, even if a team were to be ahead by more than three goals it may not be enough to hold out for a victory. Despite their financial struggles, Xavi has been able to display excellent recruitment bringing in Joao Felix and Cancelo who have immediately sparked the attack.
The improvement showed in Champions League play and if Barcelona can keep it up, there's no reason why they can't be among the contenders to win a Champions League title. Consistency will be key as the biggest question with each player has been if they can replicate performances but as long as Barca can score goals in flurries, they'll be quite a threat.
