Robert Lewandowski’s hat-trick, Lamine Yamal’s goals in three consecutive matches, and Marcus Rashford’s two assists – Barcelona’s coach Hansi Flick couldn’t have asked for more from his attacking players. In yesterday’s La Liga match, Barcelona’s forwards delivered a performance that would have pleased their manager.
Despite Celta Vigo twice equalising on their home ground at Balaídos, Barcelona came out victorious with a 4-2 win. In another match played the same evening, Real Madrid played out a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano. With Real Madrid dropping points, Barcelona closed the gap at the top of the table. Real Madrid remain in first place with 31 points, while Barcelona moved up to second with 28. Both teams have played 12 matches.
Lewandowski, who had been sidelined for a month due to injury, made his return to La Liga on November 2 against Elche, but only played 16 minutes as a substitute. He also came on as a substitute in the Champions League match against Club Brugge on November 5. Fully fit, Lewandowski started against Celta Vigo yesterday, scoring a brace in the first half and completing his hat-trick with a third goal in the second half.
This was Lewandowski’s third La Liga hat-trick, and it brought to mind two legendary figures: Ferenc Puskás and Alfredo Di Stéfano. He became only the third player to score three La Liga hat-tricks after the age of 35, following in the footsteps of Puskás and Di Stéfano. Lewandowski, who turned 38 in August, previously scored hat-tricks against Alavés in the 2024–25 season and against Valencia in the 2023–24 season.
Yamal, too, is showing signs of returning to form. After scoring against Elche and Club Brugge, he netted once again against Celta Vigo, becoming the first Barcelona player in recent memory to score in three consecutive matches.
Marcus Rashford, currently on loan at Barcelona from Manchester United, also had a hand in the goals, providing assists for Lewandowski’s second and third goals. In Barcelona’s last nine league matches, Rashford has contributed to a goal in eight of them, either scoring or assisting.
In the final four minutes of added time, Barcelona had to play with ten men after midfielder Frenkie de Jong was sent off for a foul on Celta’s Iago Aspas. However, the red card did not affect the outcome of the match.
This was Barcelona’s last match before the November international break and marked Hansi Flick’s 50th La Liga game as Barcelona’s head coach. In those 50 matches, Barcelona have won 37 times and scored 134 goals.
Flick was pleased with his team’s performance before the break, saying, “I’m happy with the performance before the break. I’m really pleased with what I saw on the pitch. In the first half, we made a few more mistakes, which the opponent took advantage of. In the second half, we were much more dominant.”
The German coach added, “What has happened in the past is irrelevant in football. I believe this victory has given us confidence for the next matches. We usually focus on ourselves, but when I saw how this win could put pressure on Real Madrid, especially before the break, it was a really great feeling.”
Barcelona’s next match is on November 22, away to Athletic Bilbao