Speaking to the press before last week’s clásico, Luis Enrique said that the match against Real Madrid would be important, yet not decisive. Few people would agree with him, but actually, this quote from Lucho has to be the mind-set to guide Barcelona. League titles are not won by winning clásicos. They are won by winning at places like Balaídos. On Sunday night, Luis Enrique’s Barcelona arguably played one of their worst matches in 2015, excluding that terrible night at Anoeta. Yet they found the way to victory. And that’s exactly what matters.
Going into the match against Celta, it is highly unlikely that Barcelona’s players could have asked for a better motivation. Earlier in the day, Real Madrid had proved that they are still a real force to be reckoned with despite their recent struggles, putting nine past a helpless Granada to close the gap to leaders Barça to a single point. The blaugrana simply knew that there was no room for error in Galicia. Luis Enrique seemed to recognise this, picking the best available players he had, with the only surprise inclusion perhaps being that of Rafinha over Ivan Rakitić.
Any notions that Barça could even think about taking it easy at the Balaídos was brutally cast aside inside the first ten minutes of action in Vigo. Put simply, Celta reminded Barça that they would be given a real run for their money. Galvanised by some clever and wholly pragmatic tactics employed by ‘Toto’ Berizzo, Celta’s players were clipping at the visitors’ heels from the word ‘go.’ They pressed high up the pitch, not allowing Barça to dominate possession, and took the extra step many forget to take when playing against Barça: They actually tried to use possession. With ten minutes played, Berizzo’s men had attempted more passes than the blaugrana and at a greater accuracy.
Of course, the hosts couldn’t carry on pressing like crazy forever, but before they ran out of the high pressure steam that fueled them early on, they warmed Bravo’s gloves. The lively Nolito slotted a pass through to Barça’s slayer in the first round, Joaquín Larrivey, with the Celta forward hitting a first time effort that called Claudio Bravo into action.
That was just about it at the beginning from Celta, who seemed content to assume a more passive role from that point on. Barça thankfully assumed the reins of the match, and with Leo Messi pulling the strings from deep, spraying passes right and left and looking for a killer through ball, the Catalans began probing for openings. The first real chance for Barça came via the ‘Flea.’ Leo cut inside from the right, effortlessly skipping past four challenges, yet his curled shot was well saved by Sergio Álvarez. Neymar had a golden chance from the rebound, yet the Brazilian’s effort was so bad that he probably won’t want to see it on replay.
Chances continued to be at a premium, with Barça’s midfield showing some signs of frustration as both Iniesta and Rafinha struggled to effectively link up with the forwards. Down the other end, the Barça backline, particularly Dani Alves, started showing some rather worrying symptoms of old. The Brazilian failed to control a loose ball on the edge of the box, allowing it to roll into Nolito’s path, and forcing Claudio Bravo to risk a penalty by having to make a last-ditch tackle (the Chilean nailed it).
With Barça lacking control in midfield, largely a product of Rafinha’s over indulgence with taking on his ex-teammates, Celta were allowed more chances as the half drew to a close. Orellana poked the ball past Bravo to allow Nolito a tap-in, yet the play was annulled correctly for offside. A couple of minutes later, Orellana and Nolito once again combined to set up Larrivey, yet the Argentine could only shoot well over while unmarked.
The end of the first half couldn’t have come at a more fitting time for Barça, as Celta grew more and more ambitious with the passing of time. However, the second half turned out to be a completely different story. Right from the referee’s first whistle, it became apparent that Celta’s players were more interested in a draw than pushing for the win. This allowed Barça some extra space in Celta’s half, and inevitably the first chances after the restart fell to the visitors. Neymar first had a goal wrongly disallowed for offside after beautifully curling home a first time effort following Iniesta’s assist, and then Leo Messi sent his shot to the side netting after a ‘no blink’ combination with Neymar and Iniesta.
Still though, Barcelona’s play lacked the necessary patience. Luis Enrique quickly reacted, bringing on Xavi for Rafinha with a little more than ten minutes of football played in the second half. The captain’s cameo was effectively a breath of fresh air for Barça, who were finally able to sustain prolonged spells of pressure on Celta’s defence. Luis Suárez had a shot deflected just wide, while Dani Alves should have scored when the ball fell to his feet following a bad first touch by Messi, yet the Brazilian could only produce an ugly kick that sent the ball straight to a goal kick. Even Xavi himself had a chance after twisting brilliantly on the edge of the box.
With the clock ticking down and a goal nowhere to be seen, both teams started making their plans for what promised to be an exciting end to the match. With less than 20 minutes remaining, Celta substitute Charles was put through on goal by an accurate long ball. The Brazilian seemed poised to score, yet Piquenbauer popped up, putting in a magisterial tackle that left the Celta man in disbelief.
Down the other end, another defender, Jérémy Mathieu upgraded his status to that of a cult hero by finally landing an opener for the visitors. A foul won by Luis Suárez on the left was expertly delivered by Xavi to the far post, where Mathieu eluded ex-Barça man Andreu Fontàs to head home via the underside of the crossbar. Yet another set piece, yet another goal for Mathieu.
After Barça’s goal the game was reduced to an unsightly midfield battle, with Barça seemingly happy to play out the match at a painfully slow tempo. Luis Enrique brought on Pedro and Rakitić for Iniesta and Suárez respectively, and Messi missed a sitter right at the death after playing one-two with Rakitić. However, just before that we got to witness one of the most childish examples of behaviour one might see in football match. Sergio Busquets was taking his time with a free kick in the middle of the park, when all of a sudden the Barça man was seen clutching his face, and the referee giving Celta’s Fabian Orellana a red card. What happened? Simply, Orellana thought it wise to take all his frustration out on Busi, by picking up a handful of grass and tossing it at Busquets’ face. Stupidity at its mightiest.
Overall, the match we watched at the Balaídos was not a typical Barça performance for 2015. It was one of the scrappiest performances, if not the scrappiest, we have seen from Lucho’s side since Anoeta. However, we must be pleased that it ended in a win. Last week’s clásico win would have meant nothing without this win. Wins at places like Balaídos can determine the outcome of a whole league championship. Just pause a moment and think how many points Barça threw away in 2011-12 against these types of teams, and ended up losing the league despite having won at the Bernabéu.
Another reason this match should make us happy is the performance of our centre-backs. Mathieu not only performed admirably on Gerard Piqué’s side, but also bagged a goal for the second week running, something that tells us he might be a great outlet in times of great need. And once more, credit must go where it’s due. To be honest, Gerard Piqué was simply impeccable, leading the whole Barça backline and putting in key tackles to eliminate potentially dangerous moves by Celta. In total, the 27-year-old had 13 interceptions against Celta, a figure light years away from any other player on the pitch. Would it be too bold a statement to say that Piqué is not actually back to his old self, but actually bettering that old version of his?
Against Celta, Luis Enrique’s Barça team showcased its practical nature. When you’ve got to win, you have to find a way to do it. Better win the ugly way (or unconventional way, if you’d like to use a euphemism) than leave valuable points behind trying to play properly. At this time, results matter the most. As long as we are still getting them, we shouldn’t complain.
Read more: http://www.totalbarca.com/2015/news/celta-barcelona-barca-wins-ugly-but-still-wins/#ixzz3WV4G1ev2
