Barcelona’s game against Celta Vigo last night at the Spotify Camp Nou was an eventful one, albeit not in the manner that Hansi Flick would have liked.
The team lost two key players to injury in the first-half, forcing the coach to make emergency substitutions.
Simultaneously, there was a medical emergency in the crowd that led to a prolonged break which killed the momentum in the game as well.
Ultimately, Barcelona did manage to hold on to their one-goal lead handed by Yamal before his injury, and retained the advantage on the leaderboard.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Barcelona 1-0 Celta Vigo.
Despite Celta Vigo not creating too many chances in terms of the sheer number of openings, Joan Garcia was forced to make two massive saves in the first half alone to keep Barcelona in the game.
Had a relatively quiet second half barring the final minutes of the game when the visitors attempted to push forward in numbers.
Cancelo started the game and left the field relatively early in the night after feeling some discomfort in his thigh. He played just under 25 minutes, and Barcelona will hope the injury is not too serious.
Martin had a strong show alongside Cubarsi in central defence, acting as the starting point of the buildup and showing a good range of passing with accuracy.
He was the more involved of the two defenders defensively, made some critical clearances, and finished with 14 defensive contributions.
The youngster was rock-solid in defence throughout the first half, although not much was demanded of him in that period. Cut off Celta Vigo’s occasional attack with confidence, but had less to do than his partner.
Kounde was defensively solid. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)
The Frenchman did about fine starting at right-back, drifting forward and linking up with Lamine Yamal in the first half. As the game progressed and Roony Bardghji arrived, however, matters changed.
Once Yamal was off, Kounde’s connection with the forward took a conspicuous hit and his attacking contributions thus dwindled in efficiency.
Garcia started in the pivot on the night and did well to partner with Pedri without doing anything flashy.
He got his basics right with accurate distributions, decision-making and defensive interceptions, helping hold off Celta Vigo’s dangerous counter-attacks.
Rested and raring with a week’s rest, Pedri looked back at his imperious best against Celta Vigo. He dominated the possession phase of the game and looked comfortable orchestrating the proceedings once more.
Racked up close to 30 passes in the first half alone and was involved regularly even off the ball with his defensive contributions.
Playing as the mediapunta, Olmo was involved regularly in the buildup phase with many of the transitions running through him against Celta Vigo. Did not stand out for too many individual moments, but his contributions were vital on the grander scheme of things.
The Spanish midfielder started on the left wing for Barcelona on the night, although he regularly drifted to the centre and added numbers in midfield. He was not involved a whole lot in the first half in possession but did well in the press.