Barcelona 1-0 Celta Vigo
Barcelona have restored their nine-point lead at the top of La Liga, having seen off a brave challenge from Celta Vigo at the Spotify Camp Nou.
The Catalans were keen for a fast start on home soil, and they almost took the lead inside 15 seconds when Ferran Torres did well to rob Marcos Alonso, which ended with Lamine Yamal finding the side-netting with a curled effort. And less than 30 seconds later, Celta almost scored themselves, but for Joan Garcia making a strong save to deny former Barcelona man Ferran Jutgla.
Barcelona suffered their first blow of the night on 21 minutes when Joao Cancelo was forced off after taking a blow to his thigh. And soon after, he was joined back in the dressing room by Lamine Yamal, but not before the 18-year-old scored the opening goal of the game from the penalty spot.
Lamine Yamal did all the work himself in drawing a foul from Celta defender Yoel Lago, and he found the bottom left corner from the resulting spot-kick. But upon striking the ball, he appeared to injure his hamstring, and he was subsequently replaced by Roony Bardghji.
A near-20 minute delay ended the first half following a medical emergency in the crowd, and that caught a number of players cold in the closing stages before the interval. The second period was played in a similar fashion, but it sparked to life when Ferran Torres volleyed home a wonderful Pedri cross, only for VAR to disallow the goal due to the Barcelona number7 being mere millimetres offside.
Celta searched for an equaliser late on, but they struggled to test Garcia in the Barcelona goal. Their best chance was a stoppage time free-kick from Marcos Alonso, but that was blocked by Jules Kounde in the wall, and shortly after, referee José Luis Munuera Montero blew the whistle to end proceedings.
Barcelona take another step towards retaining La Liga title
Many expected a lot of goals at the Spotify Camp Nou, but in the end, only one was needed to separate the sides. Barcelona will take it, as they move a little closer to taking home their second La Liga title in a row.
