Celta Vigo vs. Barcelona: Score and Reaction from 2015 La Liga Match

Celta Vigo stormed to the top of La Liga on Tuesday evening after an Iago Aspas brace saw them stun Barcelona 4-1 and end the reigning champions' 100 per cent start to the league campaign. 

The Blaugrana were found wanting at the back as Luis Enrique's side fell to his former club, where Aspas scored twice for the Galician hosts following an incredible opening strike from in-form forward Nolito. John Guidetti rounded off the scoring for Celta after Neymar bagged a consolation goal. 

Barca struggled to dictate play in their usual manner and failed to get star frontman Luis Suarez into the fixture, with Lionel Messi and Neymar also suffering from a shortfall in their usual possession rate.

Lalo R. Villar/Associated Press

The absence of Enrique's usual No. 1 Claudio Bravo was obvious as deputy goalkeeper Marc Andre ter Stegen was exposed on the counter and Celta took full advantage of their chances in front of goal.

When taking on a team of Barcelona's stature, it's easy for clubs to be lulled into a sense of self-preservation, but such was not the case for Celta, as the Mirror's Ed Malyon took note of their confident approach early on Tuesday:

Not only did the home outfit manage to hold back the tide of their opponents' considerable attacking stars, but Celta also grew into the game before taking a tighter grip on the shot count themselves.

It wasn't until Nolito steadied the ball just inside the left corner of Barca's box that Ter Stegen was tested, but the German had no chance of repelling such an expertly curled opener. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan detailed the attacker's superb record this season:

It was just four minutes later that Nolito had a hand in Celta's second, heading Aspas through on goal before he chipped over Ter Stegen from close range, leading the Guardian's Rupert Fryer to illustrate what a hammering this was:

The tempo wouldn't change for Barca in the second period as one might expect, and Celta Vigo's reign of terror only continued as Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano's nightmarish night lingered on.

And that attacking partnership of Nolito and Aspas was once again in vicious form for the hosts' third, with the former sending his team-mate through on goal with time and space to think, the latter making no mistake.

Prior to the clash, such a scoreline might have been deemed nigh impossible or at least a thing of fortune, but Goal's Peter Staunton felt assured Barca had no place to argue with the result:

Celta were to be admired for their approach, too, as a three-goal cushion didn't prevent them pushing for another, although Neymar would bag a consolation for the visitors before that fourth.

Just six minutes after coming on, Swedish substitute Guidetti completed Celta's haul mere seconds after Barcelona starlet Munir El Haddadi missed an opportunity of his own.

ESPN's James Tyler described the irony of Guidetti's strike against last season's treble winners despite being allowed to leave Manchester City over the summer:

Enrique will undoubtedly take some personal offence to the result considering it was him responsible for seeing Celta Vigo through some of their development into top-flight contenders.

After failing to concede in their first two games of the 2015-16 campaign, Barcelona have now conceded seven goals in their last four games, showing the club have some substantial concerns moving forward.

Having said that, nothing can be taken from a Celta side that deservedly continues its march on La Liga's hierarchy and will savour a historic win before making the trip to Eibar this Saturday.  

Post-Match Reaction

Lalo R. Villar/Associated Press

Even if Celta Vigo were to be considered capable of beating their guests on Wednesday, Enrique will have been taken back by just how compromising the defeat was against the team he left just over a year ago.

But the Barca boss used this as an opportunity to illustrate just how tight La Liga is at present, while lauding the quality of Eduardo Berizzo's side, according to the official Barcelona website:

"

This game goes to show just how difficult La Liga is. What decided this game is how well Celta played. It was highly effective football from them. It was very good. We tried to create problems, but we suffered a lot in one-on-one situations.

When a team has played better than you, then there is nothing much that you can say. I’d rather lose to a team that plays like Celta did today, without any tricks, purely winning through their football. I congratulate them and hope they can carry on playing like that.

"

The helmsman went on to outline chance conversion as a particular weakness of late, adding that while opportunities are being woven, "we have been struggling to turn those chances into goals."

Berizzo's men were in quite the opposite vein of form, however, on a night where Aspas and Nolito deserved countless plaudits for their finishing, and his manager did his part to meet that quota, per Spanish newspaper AS (via Football Espana):

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Aspas is lethal to the goalkeeper, when he runs he does very well against the line of the defenders. We had more chances. We are the winners but it reaffirms that there is a way to play. The game was a reward for my players.

There were special circumstances that worked in our favour. A lot went in our favour. The idea is to play this way, to lead, whoever the opponent. The players delighted the fans. They won the football, and the fans got to see it. I congratulate my players. They were perfect.

"

How ironic it was that of all the fixtures so far, this was the first game this season in which Celta have managed to score four goals, bagging three on two occasions already.

And Berizzo went on to describe Wednesday's win as a plan coming together exactly as desired, returning Enrique's compliment by describing Barca as "the best team in the world."

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The tactical plan went as we expected. We pressured the midfield and the attackers and prevented them getting comfortable. The players were faithful to the style. I saw the team deliver with the play, with the team as a unit, and I’m very satisfied by that.

We won a great match against a great rival. Our goal remains the same. We’ve beaten the best team in the world but we have our feet on the ground. Today the team showed spirit. All matches are played the same way, so you grow as a team. We’re obliged to always try to do this after beating Barcelona, but we have to run as we did today against Eibar.

"