Celta Vigo 2-2 Barcelona Player Ratings as Blaugrana woes hand Real Madrid a golden opportunity | La Liga 2019-20

Barcelona's title aspirations were dealt a gargantuan blow as a magnificent Iago Aspas strike condemned the Catalans to a heartbreaking draw against Celta Vigo on a rainy day in Galicia.

Barcelona now holds a meagre one-point lead over Real Madrid who still have a game in hand over a struggling Espanyol side later this week. Los Blancos also have a head-to-head advantage and are now massive favourites to win the La Liga title.

FT: Celta 2-2 BarcelonaBarcelona drop points in the La Liga title race again 🌧 pic.twitter.com/5oMr3F8yfv

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 27, 2020

Barcelona was impressive in the attacking third and often displayed fluid passing techniques but the Catalans' terrible defending on several occasions gifted Celta Vigo a well-deserved point.

Barcelona's shoddy defending hands Real Madrid a massive advantage

Barcelona monopolized possession in the first half-hour and looked threatening in the opening minutes. Lionel Messi, Riqui Puig, and Ivan Rakitic shone in Barcelona's midfield, with the former playing brilliant passes to Nelson Semedo on multiple occasions. Barcelona opened the scoring with a well-taken Lionel Messi free-kick that resulted in Luis Suarez heading in the opening goal.

Celta Vigo had a golden opportunity to equalise just before the cooling break with Iago Aspas but failed to find the back of the net. Lionel Messi also found some space near the Galicians' penalty area but was not able to double Barcelona's lead.

Celta Vigo was the dominant side in the opening stages of the second half and found the equaliser after a mistake from Ivan Rakitic resulted in Fedor Smolov's goal. Luis Suarez soon replied at the other end with an excellent goal that gave Barcelona the lead for the second time in the match.

Lionel Messi will be gutted with his side's performance

The Balaidos Stadium witnessed late drama as a mesmerising Iago Aspas free-kick stunned Barcelona late into the second half. Barcelona has dropped two crucial points for the second time since the La Liga restart and will now have to wait for Real Madrid's response tomorrow.

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Marc-Andre ter Stegen - 6.5/10

Barcelona's German wall made an uncharacteristically shocking error just after his side's opening goal and gave the ball straight to Fedor Smolov. Ter Stegen made amends brilliantly in the frantic minutes that followed with an excellent save from Iago Aspas.

Ter Stegen could do nothing about Iago Aspas' stunning second-half free-kick but arguably could have done a better job with his wall. The Barcelona shot-stopper made a stunning save from Nolito deep into stoppage-time.

Gerard Pique - 6/10

Gerard Pique was tasked with the monumental responsibility of marking Iago Aspas and did well for the most part. A rash challenge on Barcelona loanee Rafinha in the final minutes led to Celta Vigo's equaliser late in the second half. The Catalan defender was booked at the end of the match for his appeals against the referee's decision.

Umtiti had a miserable outing in the centre of defence

Samuel Umtiti - 5.5/10

Samuel Umtiti did not have the best of games today and nearly cost Barcelona in the first-half after a dribble into the opposition's half resulted in a Celta Vigo counter. The Frenchman was nowhere to be seen for Fedor Smolov's goal and will surely lose his place to Clement Lenglet in the next fixture.

Jordi Alba - 6/10

Jordi Alba was a troubled soul on the left flank and was not comfortable on the ball. The Barcelona left-back made some important interceptions in his own half but offered very little going forward.

Nelson Semedo - 7/10

Nelson Semedo was one of the few bright sparks in Barcelona's defence today and was a persistent threat on the right flank. The Portuguese full-back made a crucial intervention in the second half that led directly to Barcelona's second goal.

Ivan Rakitic - 6.5/10

Ivan Rakitic had a game of two halves today. The Croatian pulled the strings brilliantly for Barcelona in the first 45 minutes but faded away as the second-half progressed and gave the ball away for Celta Vigo's opening goal.

Riqui Puig was one of the few bright spots for Barcelona today

Riqui Puig - 7/10

Riqui Puig had a good outing today and was Barcelona's most potent midfielder throughout the game. The young La Masia midfielder will have impressed several fans with his performance and put in a decent shift in the middle of the pitch.

Arturo Vidal - 5.5/10

Arturo Vidal continued his poor run of form with yet another underwhelming performance today. The midfielder was outfoxed on several occasions by Denis Suarez and will have to improve if Barcelona is to put up a fight for the title.

Lionel Messi - 7.5/10

Lionel Messi looked dangerous in specific pockets but was not at his best today. The Barcelona captain worked an ingenious move from a free-kick that led to his side's opening goal but failed to double the lead late into the first half.

Lionel Messi bagged yet another assist with Barcelona's second goal but largely failed to meet his exceptionally high standards today.

20’ Messi ➡️ Suarez67’ Messi ➡️ SuarezThese two. Still at it. pic.twitter.com/DDMEgWBoPs

— B/R Football (@brfootball) June 27, 2020

Luis Suarez - 7.5/10

Luis Suarez had a typical 'Luis Suarez' day. Barcelona's Uruguayan striker was anonymous for the first twenty minutes but used his telepathic relationship with Lionel Messi to full effect to score the opening goal.

Luis Suarez gave Barcelona the lead yet again in the second half with a sensational turn and a shot from the edge of the penalty area.

Ansu Fati - 7/10

Ansu Fati was an excellent outlet on the left and gave Barcelona some much-needed width on the left flank. The 17-year-old La Masis winger was a livewire in the attacking third and gave his marker plenty of problems but was unable to produce the final product today.

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Substitutes

Martin Braithwaite - 5.5/10

Martin Braithwaite offered very little to Barcelona after coming on and found himself in the referee's bad books with a rash challenge in the second half. The Danish international will have to get better to reclaim his place in Barcelona's starting eleven.

Junior Firpo - 5/10

Junior Firpo did nothing to strengthen his case at Barcelona today and gave the ball away the minute he came on to the pitch. The left-back was caught out of position by Denis Suarez and was lucky that Ter Stegen came to his aid in stoppage-time.

Antoine Griezmann - NA

Arthur - NA

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