Barcelona 6-1 Celta de Vigo: 5 talking points

Barcelona avenged their 4-1 defeat to Celta Vigo earlier in the season in some style, as they scored 4 times in the last 15 minutes to romp past Eduardo Berizzo's side and record a memorable 6-1 victory at the Camp Nou. Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a brilliant free-kick from 30 yards, before ex-Manchester City man John Guidetti levelled from the penalty spot.The second half was all Barcelona, as Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and assisted a further two goals to complete the rout and go 3 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga, despite having played a game lesser than their title rivals.One of those goals was notable thanks to a 'Cruyff' penalty in the 81st minute. Instead of Leo Messi scoring it himself, he passed it to an onrushing Luis Suarez, who accepted the invitation to complete his hat-trick and send Barcelona 4-1 up.We look at the 5 talking points which shaped up a one-sided encounter at Barcelona's iconic home ground:-

#1 Luis Suarez was absolutely rampant

Suarez was in devastating form against Vigo

Three goals and two assists. There were Luis Suarez’ statistics last night, as he was instrumental in brushing aside a tiring Celta Vigo defence in the last 15 minutes. His first goal came thanks to a brilliant Leo Messi lob pass, while his next was a simple tap-in following some good work by Messi and Neymar. He gleefully slotted home a penalty which was passed to him by Messi to complete his hat-trick. He turned provider after that – perfectly picking out Ivan Rakitic with a lofted cross for Barcelona’s fifth, before launching a mind-blowing long ball across the field for Neymar to feed upon and chip the goalkeeper in injury time. An unforgettable night for the ex-Liverpool man.

#2 Lionel Messi shows no signs of a kidney problem

Lionel Messi scored the first goal of the game

Barcelona’s 5-time Ballon d’Or winner came into this game on the back of a kidney stone problem. However, the 28-year old showed no signs of that on the pitch as he was absolutely rampant on the right wing. Pacy approaches, fleet-footedness and powerful left-footed shots are things he does for fun, and he produced that kind of a performance yet again.

He was involved in each of his side’s first four goals – an accurate free-kick followed by two well-placed passes to help Barcelona score their second and third goals, before passing his penalty for Luis Suarez to smash home. His beautiful lob pass to assist Luis Suarez for Barcelona’s second goal was a silver lining on a great performance. Celta’s defenders had a torrid time dealing with the Argentine, but they cannot feel embarrassed at being outplayed by the world’s best footballer at present.

#3 Celta\'s defenders indiscipline in the first half cost them

The Celta defence couldn't handle Barcelona's attacks

Celta Vigo’s back four were guilty of making a series of cynical challenges in dangerous positions outside the penalty box, resulting in three of them getting an entry into the referee’s book in the first 45 minutes. This meant that they had to refrain from making challenges in the second half in fear of getting sent off.

The effect of those first-half bookings were evident on the pitch as the Celta defenders stood off Barcelona’s attacks, inviting pressure and shots from the opposition – therefore relying on conservative tackles. In short, they were forced to think twice before committing to a challenge. Barcelona took full advantage and scored five well-worked goals in the second half to take the game beyond a desolate Celta Vigo.

#4 Goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez keeps the score down

Sergio Alvarez was in the firing line all night

Celta can feel indebted to their goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez, who made a number of amazing saves throughout the 90 minutes to ensure that the scoreline didn’t read that of a cricket match. Two notable saves to deny Neymar and Suarez (twice) in either half suggested that the 29-year-old had earned his wages for this week.

He was absolutely powerless to prevent any of Barcelona’s six goals from entering the net. Such was the quality and finesse of MSN. However, it was a performance of real grit and alertness from the Spaniard, albeit the final score suggests nothing of that sort.

#5 The Suarez-Messi penalty was valid

Similar penalties have been tried before

A Cruyff penalty is called so because it was executed successfully for the first time by the great Dutch forward Johan Cruyff back in 1982. Cruyff passed a penalty to on-running Ajax team-mate Jesper Olsen, who drew the goalkeeper before passing back to Cruyff to score.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez’s thought out ‘Cruyff’ penalty to put Barcelona 4-1 up prompted most fans’ to roll back the years and recall a similar incident involving Arsenal’s Thierry Henry and Robert Pires in 2005 during a Premier League clash against Manchester City. While Pires (who was supposed to take the penalty) bungled in his attempt to pass the ball forward to an on-rushing Henry, Messi made no mistake in laying his penalty perfectly for Suarez, who slotted past a helpless keeper to complete his treble.

Most fans may not be aware of the rule, but this method of taking penalties is completely legal as long as:

1. The player taking the penalty kicks the ball forward.

2. He does not play the ball a second time until it has touched another player.

• 3. The ball is in play when it is kicked and moves forward.
• Due to Pires’ failure to get the ball out of the penalty spot, he had to stand there motionless since he couldn’t touch the ball for a second time unless it touched another player. Before Henry could get to it, Manchester City defender Sylvain Distin hurriedly hacked the ball to safety. Chance gone. The experience will be a whole lot sweeter for Messi and Suarez, though.