Barcelona vs. Celta Vigo: 6 Things We Learned

Hot on the heels of a magnificent El Clasico victory, Barcelona hosted Celta Vigo at Camp Nou looking for the win that would cement their place back in the title race.

This fixture saw a return to Catalonia for ex-Barca players Nolito, Andreu Fontas and Celta manager Luis Enrique.

The visitors arrived not completely clear of relegation troubles but with some breathing space.

Let's take a look at six things we learned from the game.

Has Victor Valdes Played His Last Game for Barcelona?

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Victor Valdes injured his knee during his first participation in the game.

In a cruel twist of fate, Victor Valdes, who wasn't called into action until Celta's 20th-minute free-kick, injured himself whilst collecting the ball.

Screaming in pain, he signalled to the bench immediately.

Players normally know when these sorts of injuries are serious, and the gathering Blaugrana certainly looked worried.

It would be simply awful luck if it were to deny one of Barca's most consistent players a place in Vicente Del Bosque's Spanish World Cup squad.

Worse still, this could be the final time that Valdes is seen in a Barca shirt.

Just Stop with the Rotations Already

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Tata Martino just won't stop rotating.

Barcelona fans have become used to Tata Martino's rotations. It's something he's done throughout the season.

On that basis we shouldn't perhaps be surprised that he continues to make full use of his squad.

However, wasn't the idea that the rotations would only take place in the first few months of the season?

So that the strongest Barca XI would be ready to mount an assault on all fronts in the latter stages?

Whilst Marc Bartra, Alex Song et al will be grateful of another appearance, how on earth can you build any sort of consistency or rhythm when Tata doesn't play the same starting XI in successive games?

Celta's Very Defensive Formation

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Luis Enrique was far too defensive on his return to Camp Nou.

It's a fairly well-known theory that if you try and play football against Barcelona, the chances are you are going to come off fairly badly.

Ex-Blaugrana and now Celta Vigo manager Luis Enrique would know that only too well.

"Lucho" has earned a reputation for having his teams play good football, but we saw precious little of it on Wednesday night.

A 5-3-2 formation from the off set the away side's stall out, then a 6-4-0 in the 11th minute was almost beyond comprehension.

That it failed so spectacularly might well mean Enrique revisiting the tactics board for future games.

Neymar: Enigma or Talent?

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We saw the best and worst of Neymar on Wednesday night.

Just how good, or bad, is Neymar? We saw the best and worst of him in Wednesday night's match.

Since coming back from injury, the Brazilian has not been anywhere near the player he was before a spell on the sidelines.

Even taking into account a studious recovery programme to gently ease him back to fitness, as we've seen with Lionel Messi, he is still some way short of an €86 million player.

The way that Neymar took his second goal was sublime and hints at what's under the bonnet.

The way he fluffed his lines with a wild swing that went well wide in the second half would see you return the merchandise. Not fit for purpose.

His general play wasn't great either. Too many times he lost balls, looked disinterested and barely tracked back.

The jury is still out.

Empty Camp Nou

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Camp Nou was barely full against Celta Vigo.

It was only a month ago when Dani Alves had questioned whether the team could rely on the support of Barcelona's fans.

Per Dermot Corrigan of ESPN, Alves noted:

"

This club is made up of players and fans -- everyone fighting for the same objective, which is to win and enjoy a final.

Those who do not show up are not as big ‘cules’ as they say they are.

"

His comments came after only 25,551 turned up for the Copa Del Rey tie against Levante.

His comments obviously fell on deaf ears because this is a picture from just before kick-off against Celta.

Not good enough for a team challenging for the top honours is it.

Are Barca Good Enough for Success This Season?

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Can Lionel Messi fire Barcelona to glory?

Barcelona, and in particular Lionel Messi, showed everyone on Sunday night that they can be considered as real contenders for silverware this season.

Compare that performance with the one against Celta Vigo.

Although it was a reasonably comfortable 3-0 win in the end, the second-half performance in particular had no spark, no real energy.

Messi can perhaps be spared criticism once again, but this sort of 90 minutes isn't going to give Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid sleepless nights.