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Despite Lionel Messi scoring, Barcelona fell to a 2-1 defeat against Celta Vigo which ended their hopes of a La Liga title. In an entertaining encounter which ebbed and flowed, Barcelona dominated the visitors with 64% possession and an incredible 21 attempted shots. However, it was Celta Vigo who had the last laugh.
Things seemed to be going according to plan when Lionel Messi headed Sergio Busquets' wonderful pass past Vilar to give Barcelona the lead in the 28th minute. The lead was shortlived as Celta Vigo soon hit back with a well-taken goal from Santi Mina.
Antoine Griezmann and Ousmane Dembele were guilty of missing some extremely presentable chances for Barcelona as the teams went into half-time at 1-1. The second half started in the same manner as the first half with Barcelona dominating and creating all the chances.
However, Lionel Messi's team just lacked the finishing touch and their task was made harder when they were reduced to 10 men after Clement Lenglet's red card in the 83rd minute.
Celta Vigo made the most of the numerical advantage and soon grabbed a shock 2-1 lead when Santi Mina was in the right place at the right time to blast it into the back of the net in the 89th minute.
Celta Vigo just had 4 shots to Barcelona's 21 shots but all their 4 shots were on target and it was enough for the visitors to secure a famous victory at the Camp Nou.
The loss against Celta Vigo leaves Barcelona in 3rd place with 76 points. Speaking after the match, Ronald Koeman spoke about the importance of Lionel Messi to Barcelona:
“He has scored 30 goals in La Liga and has given us many points in La Liga. It's a question for Leo (Lionel Messi). For my part and the club, let's hope he stays with us.
“Because if Leo's not here, we have a doubt who's going to score the goals.”
With Lionel Messi's contract set to run out at the end of this season, the Argentine has been linked with high profile moves away to Manchester City and PSG. Ronald Koeman's own future has been called into question as well with results not going Barcelona's way in the last few weeks.
Lionel Messi's future has been subject to intense speculation and it will be interesting to see where the legendary Argentine will be playing next season.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the;
Best Tweets from Barcelona 1-2 Celta Vigo
Lionel Messi did his best to inspire Barcelona
