Barça shows Madrid how to come back with an epic second half

BarcelonaEvery day seems like a bigger party at Barça. The wind blows in favor of an invigorating team that excites in its pursuit of the treble. Against Celta, in a match played with the sweet taste of Champions League wine still on their lips, Hansi Flick's team turned around a match that seemed lost, proving that if their legs don't take them, their heart will. In a few minutes, Barça went from losing 3-1 to emerging victorious, with Raphinha scoring a penalty in stoppage time. In just a few months, Hansi Flick has managed to build a Barça that brings all its critics to their knees, one after another. Little by little, all those who doubted the German coach are falling off their high horse and converting, changing their faith. There are few left who still decry a team with a big heart that for a moment seemed to stumble, which would have allowed Madrid to gain hope by sucking the wounds of the Champions League and joining the fight for the league. They'll have to wait; this Barça team doesn't want to leave them even the crumbs.

Despite their fatigue, the Blaugrana team managed to keep a cool head and turn around a match that had become very complicated with Borja Iglesias' three goals. The sweet joy that came with the Champions League gave way to a bit of indigestion with an unexpected stumble early in the second half. But no, it was just a scare. The Barcelona fans are still celebrating. For fans, football is nothing more than a space to let their hearts fly and forget about the problems of everyday life, so after returning to the Champions League semi-finals, the Barcelona fans were still euphoric despite Fick's warnings, who wants to bring down the unlucky crowd. It's your fault, Hansi, for doing too well.

And in fact, the match started in the best possible way, with Ferran Torres creating a prodigious goal, slipping between the opponents and connecting with a sharp shot that the visiting goalkeeper, Vicent Guaita, could never reach. A Foios forward scoring against a Torrent goalkeeper, it all remained between the Valencians. It seemed like the start of just another formality for Barça, one more step towards the Canaletes fountain. It wouldn't be, since they would have to do a lot of digging.

Flick looked pissed off. He knew the importance of the match against this good Celta de Vigo side that plays and lets play. He knew that Cláudio Giráldez's team doesn't scare easily, this year dreaming of returning to European competition with a host of homegrown youngsters. But with Inter Milan and the Copa del Rey final looming, the German coach had to make painful decisions, like leaving Lamine Yamal on the bench. It made sense, since the young man from Mataró plays everything and had been looking too tired in recent days. Better to have him replace it against Celta than against Inter, he must have thought. And in fact, the gamble paid off with Ferran's goal in the opening minutes of the match. The joy was short-lived, as this Celta enjoys running. And taking advantage of Gerard Martin's back, Pablo Duran delivered a cross that Szczęsny swallowed. Just on the day Deco stated that the veteran Polish goalkeeper would surely stay at the club next season, he made a mistake that allowed Borja Iglesias to equalize. The 'panda', as he is known, would repeatedly torment a Barça defense that was too open. The Blaugrana team always had the initiative but couldn't get a second and played with fire whenever they failed to apply pressure after a loss. Celta, without doing anything extraordinary, would occasionally bite, like flies do when rain is predicted. And well into the second half, a serious error by Frenkie de Jong allowed Borja Iglesias to score the second goal. The day had started sunny and was turning gray.

Flick then called on Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo. Things needed to be shaken up for a Barça side where Lewandowski was too isolated and Pedri, always judicious, couldn't break the visitors' spirits. This Celta knew how to play and would take advantage of another defensive error to score the third, with Borja Iglesias gently tapping the ball past Barça's Polish goalkeeper. Once in the Blaugrana's waterline, however, the ball was still in play. But within minutes, Dani Olmo, almost with the first touch of the ball, would score the second goal. A key moment, as suddenly, Celta no longer felt in control of the match and could see the players in front of them changing their outlook. For Flick, the substitutions worked. It's true that if you can bring in players of Olmo and Lamine's talent, it's easily a winning bet. And a Yamal cross would be finished off by Raphinha in the back of the net with more than 25 minutes left to finally show Madrid the meaning of the word "comeback," a word they've used so much these days.

The final minutes were an eternal Barça siege, with Gavi coming on to cause chaos in place of Lewandowski, who couldn't score his 100th goal for Barça. He wouldn't be the hero. Barça would find their reward with a penalty on Dani Olmo, which required a VAR call to whistle it, adding to the excitement before Raphinha scored the goal that sent the stadium into a frenzy. The schedule is swollen, the schedule isn't helping, and the players are tired, but this team wants to take on the world.