FC Barcelona's attacking trio of Luis Suárez, Neymar and Lionel Messi was not enough to earn what should have been a manageable, comfortable home win against Celta Vigo. Luis Enrique's former side put together a great performance on Saturday, and had the quality to pull out a 1-0 win at Camp Nou.
3 things we learned from Barcelona’s shocking 1-0 loss to Celta Vigo
Luis Enrique’s men hit the post three times but played a sloppy match, confirming they’re going through a slump.
Celta sat back and mainly let FC Barcelona play, but the Galician side showed the world that Enrique’s men do not have the creativity they once displayed under Pep Guardiola or Tito Vilanova. They were without Andres Iniesta, but whether he would have been much of a help after his terrible start to the 2014-2015 season remains a mystery. Still, Barcelona obviously had multiple chances to win the game. For instance, Neymar hit the post twice -- one of them was a huge mistake by the Brazilian striker -- and goalkeeper Sergio Álvarez was arguably the man of the match, so Celta might have been a bit lucky to escape with all three points.
After a sloppy first half, just when FC Barcelona were wearing Celta’s defense down, Nolito delivered a magical backheel assist to Joaquín Larrivey, who finished the chance and scored the game’s only goal. Larrivey was brilliant throughout the whole match, and coach Eduardo Berizzo will have a hard time choosing between him and Charles for the starting spot. Nolito -- raised as a footballer in Barcelona’s La Masía -- proved that he’s much more than a simple center-forward, and some Barcelona fans were already wishing they had Nolito back on their roster, replacing a mediocre Pedro. The Spanish attacker had a very rough go of it when he came in for Rafinha in the 66th minute.
Suárez, Neymar and Messi tried to come back and get the three points, but Álvarez -- often criticized because of his lack of steadiness -- was there to ultimately give Celta the win with a brilliant save on a shot by Suárez in the 84th minute.
Barcelona are no longer leading La Liga's table, with both Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid ahead of los blaugranas. If Valencia and Sevilla win tomorrow, Enrique's side would end this weekend on the fifth position after two consecutive losses. Barcelona will visit Almería next Saturday in what will be a must-win match for the Catalans.
FC Barcelona: Bravo, Alves, Mascherano, Mathieu, Alba, Rakitic, Busquets (Xavi 66’), Rafinha (Pedro 66’), Neymar, Suárez, Messi
Goals: None
Celta de Vigo: Sergio Alvárez, Mallo, Cabral, Gómez, Jonny, Hernández (Fernández 69’), Radoja, Krohn-Dehli, Orellana, Nolito (Madinda 88’), Larrivey (Charles 76’)
Goals: Larrivey (55’)
3 things
- A Neymar-Messi-Suárez trio should be enough to win trophies. If... - If Barcelona had a solid defensive line and a decent midfield. But they signed Thomas Vermaelen, who hasn't featured in a single match for Barcelona yet, and got rid of Cesc Fàbregas, the man who was supposed to lead their midfield during Xavi's decline. Taking a look at FC Barcelona's midfield this season, selling Thiago and Cesc to Bayern and Chelsea makes no sense.
- The Camp Nou is tired of Dani Alves - Not so long ago, Alves was the world's best right back. Period. Now, all he does is send crosses to Neymar and Messi, who are not brilliant on the air, to say the least. Alves once tried to combine with his teammates and make runs through the opposition's box, but that Dani Alves is way behind us. The Camp Nou whistled him, and he has already confirmed he's on his way out of FC Barcelona when the season finishes.
- Piqué, where art thou? - This was a tough week for Gerard Piqué. He conceded the equalising penalty in El Clásico and was caught too worried about his cell phone during Barcelona's friendly against Espanyol. Enrique kept him out of the team's list to face Celta Vigo even though he wasn't injured.
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