Barça wins but does not convince against Celta

Barça wins but does not convince against Celta

Xavi's team signs a discreet 1-0 before playing the Champions League and the Clásico

MADRID, 9 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

FC Barcelona kept the lead in LaLiga Santander this Sunday by beating RC Celta (1-0) on matchday eight held at the Camp Nou, an important victory in the fight for the lead with Real Madrid without recovering a better version seen this campaign.

Xavi Hernández's team started like a shot and the results partly prove him right, leader with 22 points, tied with the white team. However, the superiority that he showed at times is not so much and the game does not look on the verge of a vital week, forced to beat Inter Milan on Wednesday.

The losses in defense left behind a left-hander, but Barça worked from the start, largely with the consent of a fearful and ineffective Celta. Alba's centers carried a lot of danger, Gavi and Pedri multiplied and Rapinha, who claimed a penalty like the entire Barça fiefdom, was also intense.

In the end, the culé team went ahead in a tremendous gift from Unai Núñez, who left the ball dead in the small area for Pedro to make it 1-0. Celta did not leave their field and hardly had the ball until half an hour, but then they began to release players in attack and Barça did not know how to contain it.

Larsen gave the Galicians that start and Ter Stegen had to start shrinking with the first balls that Aspas touched. The sky-blue box lacked a finish but found it after the restart, while Barça seemed to have definitively lost control of the match. Óscar had it very clear and Celta's arrivals, seeking not to miss the train from the noble zone of the table, smelled like a Barça goal without remedy.

With the temporary injuries of both goalkeepers, the match was stopped a lot and Xavi saw the need for changes. For that this Barça has the bottom of the wardrobe but Dembélé, De Jong and Ansu Fati hardly came into play. Another missing in combat was Robert Lewandowski, whose light has been fading like this new Barça.

Xavi's team was close to an hour without a clear chance, while Celta arrived with many people, taking out Piqué balls and a Marcos Alonso central defender. The Galician team got to see the door, annulled by Galán offside and Ter Stegen denied the goal to Aspas. Barça was also saved from Paciencia to continue leading, but against Inter they have no margin and the Clásico appears.

--RESULT: FC BARCELONA, 1 - RC CELTA, 0. (1-0, at half-time).

FC BARCELONA: Ter Stegen; Balde (Sergi Roberto, min.77), Pique, Marcos Alonso, Jordi Alba (Eric Garcia, min.86); Busquets, Pedri (De Jong, min.63), Gavi; Lewandowski, Raphinha (Dembele, 63rd minute) and Ferran (Ansu Fati, 63rd minute).

CELTIC: Marchesín; Hugo Mallo (Mingueza, min.93), Aidoo, Unai Núñez, Javi Galán; Beltrán, Óscar Rodríguez, Veiga (Solari, min.75), Cervi (Paciencia, min.84); Larsen (Carles Pérez, min.75), Iago Aspas.

1 - 0, min.17, Pedri.

--REFEREE: Munuera Montero (C.Andaluz). He admonished Alba (min.71) and Busquets (min.85) by Barça. And Unai Núñez (min.61), Aidoo (min.70) and Óscar (min.71) at Celta.

--STADIUM: Spotify Camp Nou, 81,525 spectators.