Blessed temerity: the hot notes from Barça-Celta

BarcelonaBarça's epic comeback against Celta Vigo in La Liga (4-3). Here are some quick notes.

The smell of champions. No, Barça is not at its best. The Blaugranas They lost clearly in Dortmund and they sweated their guts out to overcome the visit of a mid-table rival. The value of the three points earned against the Galicians was evident in the angry gestures of Flick and the players, aware that the league title is a little closer after noble efforts like these. The scoreline went from 1-3 to 4-3 thanks to the usual whirlwind of attack, the threat of Lamine Yamal and Olmo as substitutes, and a clear penalty in stoppage time forced by the player from Egarense. An epic victory with flaws to improve and a warning: everything will be difficult. But one thing is already clear: this Barça has the scent of champions.

A goalkeeper who stops. Since Barça is such an attacking team that it can be reckless at times and is only allowed to play with eleven men, it's only natural that opponents create scoring opportunities for them. Celta, a team that plays against them quite a bit, has taken advantage of this circumstance not only to give Borja Iglesias his first goal, but also to score his first goal. hat trick in the First Division, but for shooting a total of eight times between Szczesny's posts. The Polish goalkeeper, feeling the encouragement of Ter Stegen, who doesn't want to miss the beautiful part of the season, was the one who came out on top in the 1-1 draw, but he made four commendable saves to sustain the team. The comeback is also his. Let it not go unnoticed, because Barça, despite winning, required fewer shots from Guaita.

Depending on how you look at it, it's not such bad news. With the score at 3-3, Lewandowski requested a substitution due to thigh discomfort. The Pole, who at almost 37 is playing practically every game, now faces a few weeks out if tests confirm a torn thigh muscle. If such a diagnosis is confirmed, he will miss the Copa del Rey final, next Saturday. On paper, the top scorer's absence is never news to celebrate, but given what's coming up—Champions League semi-finals, a tight La Liga final, and the dream of a treble—it might be in Lewandowski's best interest to not do anything crazy and recover properly. Besides, when he's not playing, Barça doesn't miss him as much. Without him, there's less of an eye for precision, but greater pressure and mobility.

It's just a little bit what there is. In his latest press conference, and annoyed that La Liga has scheduled Valladolid-Barça for May 3 at 9 p.m.—with little time before traveling to Milan for the Champions League semi-finals—Flick was up in arms. The German comes from a football background where business is less important. In the Bundesliga, rest on the pitch and loyalty in the stands are paramount. In Spain, however, money talks: The TV companies rule, and the fans are just a slice of the pie. Fans are seen as consumers, as can be seen every weekend in Montjuïc. We embrace the coach's complaints. They make perfect sense. But Barça's statement is somewhat fake, inconsistent with how the soccer mom exploits.