Barcelona 4-3 Celta Vigo: Raphinha completes stunning comeback

LaLiga leaders Barcelona fought back from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in a rollercoaster match to move seven points clear at the top of the table.

Borja Iglesias' hat-trick looked to have put the visitors in control, but Hansi Flick's substitutions made the difference, before Raphinha's stoppage-time penalty proved the difference.

Barcelona took the lead when Ferran Torres picked up the ball in midfield and found space to dribble towards goal, pulling the trigger from the edge of the box to beat Vicente Guaita for his 10th league goal of the season.

But Celta responded immediately when Pablo Duran put in a superb cross from the wing. Wojciech Szczesny missed the ball after sprinting off his line, leaving Iglesias with a tap-in into an empty net.

Barcelona then went behind seven minutes into the second half, when Frenkie de Jong made an error and completely missed a long ball, allowing Iglesias to run through and beat Szczesny to grab his second goal.

As the hosts pushed forward to find an equaliser, a Celta clearance found Iglesias again, and he capitalised on the home side's high line to sprint through on goal and beat Szczesny for a third time to claim his hat-trick.

A stunned Barcelona responded two minutes later, getting one back in the 64th minute when Robert Lewandowski, who limped off injured shortly after, and Raphinha combined to find Dani Olmo, who scored five minutes after coming on as a substitute.

Four minutes later, Barcelona levelled it at 3-3 when Lamine Yamal, another substitute, crossed the ball into the six-yard box where Raphinha rose above the defence to head home.

Celta looked set to leave with a point, but Olmo was fouled in the box and earned a stoppage-time penalty following a VAR check, with Raphinha stepping up to blast the ball into the top corner in the 98th minute to snatch the win.

The result puts the pressure back on Real Madrid, who play fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao on Sunday. Celta Vigo are seventh with 43 points.

FULL TIME!!!!WHAT A COMEBACK!WHAT A COMEBACK!WHAT A COMEBACK!WHAT A COMEBACK!#BARÇACELTA pic.twitter.com/PtCxHbhRcL
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) April 19, 2025

Data Debrief: Barca avoid title-race slip-up

Barcelona let a 2-0 lead slip against Celta in the reverse fixture this season, and it looked like they may be set to repeat that feat when going into half-time level.

And though it was Flick's substitutes who seemingly turned the tide, it was Raphinha who stole the headlines with his 30th goal of the season.

Since the start of 2024, only Mohamed Salah has provided more assists (29) among players in the top five European leagues in all competitions than Raphinha (26).

It was a crushing loss for Celta, who had pulled off a shock just past the hour. Iglesias is the second away player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona in LaLiga in the 21st century after Diego Forlan in May 2005.