Barca Pulls Off Epic Comeback Against Celta After Iglesias Hat-Trick

Celta were up 3–1 with just half an hour to go. And of course — they still went home with zero points.

On Tuesday, Barcelona traveled to Dortmund and suffered their first defeat of 2025. From a tournament standpoint, the result meant little, but two slip-ups in a row were unacceptable for the Catalans. They did manage to beat Celta — but only after coming back from 1–3!

Hansi Flick gave Yamal some rest. Balde was still recovering from an injury he picked up a week ago against Leganés. Araújo and Gavi also started on the bench. But not Lewandowski, who missed a golden chance early on. The Pole received a pass from Fermín right in the middle of the box and, completely unchallenged, spun and fired. Guaita didn’t even flinch — yet the ball whistled just past the post.

Still, the first goal didn’t take long. In the 12th minute, Ferran Torres easily slipped past Alonso and blasted the ball into the top left corner from outside the box. The former Chelsea defender merely stood and watched.

But Alonso redeemed himself three minutes later with a perfect long ball down the right flank for Duran. Cubarsí might’ve intercepted the low cross — if not for Szczęsny charging out for a hopeless ball and confusing his teammate. Iglesias accepted the gift and slotted it into an empty net.

Celta tried the exact same play later, but this time Wojciech was alert and denied Iglesias a one-on-one brace. Just before halftime, the Polish keeper made two back-to-back saves with his feet — first stopping Moriba’s driven shot, then denying Losada’s rebound.

Barcelona lacked sharpness in attack. Yes, they dominated possession. Yes, they created far more chances and had more shots (8–6). But they rarely looked truly dangerous — as shown by the expected goals: 1.00 xG for Barça vs 0.49 for Vigo. The team clearly missed Yamal’s presence. And Martín, filling in for Balde, had a tough night — his crosses were often off, and he lost most of his duels with Duran.

In the 52nd minute, Barça conceded again — this time from their own confusion. De Jong and Martínez failed to communicate on a long clearance by Lago, and Iglesias calmly picked it up and scored in a one-on-one with Szczęsny.

And it wasn’t over! Iglesias kept tormenting the Barcelona backline, and in the 62nd minute, he scored his first hat-trick in seven years. Another long ball (this time from Carreira), another one-on-one — and boom. It looked more like a penalty shootout, because no one could stop Borja.

Comebacks are nothing new for Barcelona. Especially with Olmo and Yamal coming off the bench. And once again — it worked! By the 68th minute, the score was 3–3! Dani Olmo scored himself after a brilliant flicked assist from Raphinha, who received a pass from Lewandowski. Then Lamine set up Raphinha with a cross to the far post. This kind of thriller belongs in cinemas!

They just needed one more to seal the win. Easier said than done. Barça were turning Celta’s defense inside out. Olmo and Gavi (who came on after Lewandowski pulled a thigh muscle) both came close, but couldn’t find the target. And Celta weren’t done either — Duran had a breakaway and was possibly tugged by Martínez, but referee López saw no foul. Mingueza even missed an open header.

The climax came in the 90+6th minute! Lago brought down Olmo in the box, and Raphinha calmly converted the penalty. How many comebacks is that for Barça this season? Third? Fifth? Tenth? Doesn’t matter. This team has the heart of a champion — and now a seven-point lead over Real Madrid to show for it.

Published by Patrick Jane
20.04.2025