Celta fight back to hold 10-man Barca to 2-2 draw

VIGO, Spain :Celta Vigo fought back with two late goals in quick succession to hold LaLiga leaders Barcelona to a highly entertaining 2-2 draw on Saturday.
It looked like Barca were cruising towards victory after they opened a two-goal lead thanks to strikes by captain Raphinha in the 15th minute and by Robert Lewandowski in the 61st, but the script changed after their midfielder Marc Casado was sent off due to a second-yellow card for a foul in the 82nd minute.
With Barca down to 10-men, the home side piled on the pressure and managed to score twice with strikes by substitute Alfonso Gonzalez and Hugo Alvarez in the 84th and 86th minutes respectively.
Barca top the LaLiga standings with 34 points, five ahead of Atletico Madrid in second and seven ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who have two games in hand.
“We had the game under control, but the red-card really affected us,” said midfielder Gavi, who was making his first start since suffering an ACL tear with Spain national team over a year ago.
“Celta put us away in two very specific actions, if you loose focus, this is what happens… We can’t allow ourselves to have a player sent off because then those things happen.”
“Their first goal was stupid. We have to clear the ball away. And with one man down it’s difficult to get the three points. It’s football and we have to learn…”
Gavi was referring to Barca defender Jules Kounde mishandling the ball on the edge of Barca’s box that allowed Gonzalez to pounce and steal it before firing Celta’s first past goalkeeper Inaki Pena.
Barca capitalised on a couple of bad mistakes by Celta defenders to score their goals in a game where the home-side were the dominant force.
Oscar Mingueza missed a header while trying to clear away a long ball from Kounde, allowing Raphinha to pounce and fire in the opener in the 15th minute.
Barca goalkeeper Pena made a string of saves to deny an equaliser and they were lucky not to go into the break a man down after Celta captain Iago Aspas was fouled with a tackle from behind by defender Gerard Martin, who already had a yellow card.
Celta players and coach asked for a second-yellow, but the referee only gave a verbal warning to the Barca academy player, while flashing a yellow to Aspas for complaining. A fuming Aspas had to be held back by his manager and team mates.
Another mistake by Mingueza allowed Barca to extend their lead in the 61st minute.
The distracted fullback lost possession to Raphinha, who passed to Lewandowski and the Polish striker eventually scored Barca’s second.
However, Casado’s two yellow cards in a seven-minute spell handed Celta an opportunity, with 21-year-old Alvarez equalising from close-range to rescue a point for the home side.
The result meant Barcelona are now winless in their last two games, following their 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad before the international break.