The Catalans were yesterday humbled in the hands of Celta Vigo as the relegation based team took advantaged of Barcelona weakness and took charge of the 90 minutes.
Barcelona missed the chance to move top of La Liga as they fell to a damaging 4-3 loss away to Celta Vigo, with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen enduring a match to forget.
The hosts appeared to start in survival mode as Barcelona dominated the opening ten minutes only for Celta to end the half threatening to utterly humiliate their opponents
But it was Pione Sisto and Iago Aspas who gave the Galicians a two-goal lead, and Jeremy Mathieu’s own goal ensured they entered half-time with the wind in their sails.
Gerard Pique pulled one back for the Catalans shortly after half-time, and a Neymar penalty kick with almost a half-hour left to play set up a tense finale.
Pablo Hernandez took advantage of a second Marc-Andre ter Stegen blunder, however, and while Pique pulled his team back to within one, it was too little, too late.
Celta have beaten Barca in each of the last two seasons – including a 4-1 home victory last season – and raced into a three-goal half-time lead.
“The game had just about everything, and it so very nearly conjured up the unthinkable – a Gerard Pique hat-trick. Denis whipped in another beauty from the right and the centre-back rose highest again, but his header whistled wide of the mark, very much like Barça’s hopes of an equaliser,” Barcelona wrote on their website.
No Messi, there is a problem
Neymar took it on himself to play Messi’s roaming role but often found himself running into traffic, while neither Arda Turn nor Rafinha could provide the attacking thrust lost by Neymar dropping deeper.