Liga – Barcelona-Celta 3-1, Aubameyang double, Araujo in hospital

Barça overtook Celta and mortgaged second place in the standings thanks to the ideas of their forwards. The test against the Galicians is not the most brilliant, yet the Blaugrana close the practice already in the first half to fix the result at 3-1 at the beginning of the second half. To make the difference are the plays of Dembélé, who inspires two goals with his ideas in the right lane that allow him to reach as many as 13 seasonal assists. In addition to the French, Depay (12 goals) and Aubameyang, author of a brace, also take the spotlight. Araujo rescued by the ambulance in the middle of the second half due to a tough head-on with Gavi.

EXPERIMENTS

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With the qualification to the next Champions already armored, Xavi takes the opportunity to make tactical experiments. Hence the 4-2-3-1 proposed from the start against the Galicians, with Gavi and De Jong in the middle and in front of a four aces made up of Dembélé, Depay, Torres and Aubameyang. The result was an unbalanced and awkward Barça under construction, struggling for a good half hour against the precise dribble of the guests. Unconvincing Depay in the role of attacking midfielder behind Aubameyang, but the Dutchman was still among the most active and, in addition to leaving his mark, grew in the second half with a return to the usual 4-3-3.

Ruthless attack

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The Catalans started off with the wrong attitude, allowing themselves to be crushed at times close to their own area. They also needed Ter Stegen on a couple of occasions after being pardoned by Aspas (incredible 14th minute sleep only in front of the German). But at half an hour the turning point came thanks to a sudden cue from Dembélé, hitherto not received: dribbling, tunnel, ball and chain out-of-balance and backward unloading in the center of the area for the rushing Depay, who scored with a dirty but effective deviation. Celta did not need play and commitment even after the disadvantage, also because the Catalans were ruthless in striking again at the second chance of the evening, this time with a shot from a few steps by Aubameyang in the 41st minute after a tiraccio from Araujo. Lethal then the play on the Dembélé-Aubameyang axis at the start of the second half, which ended with the winning right-hand of the Gabonese for the third Blaugrana goal that effectively closed the games. Once again, however, more than half of the goal came from Dembélé, who was impregnable both in the narrow and in the open field. Shortly after, the goal of the guests’ flag arrived with Iago Aspas, who did not forgive the second gift of the evening from the Catalan rearguard. Just a jolt for the Galicians, because the expulsion of the former Nerazzurri Murillo in the 58th minute (just 13 ‘after entering the field) dampened any hypothesis of a comeback in the bud.

FEAR FOR ARAUJO

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Halfway through the second half, frost fell on the Camp Nou due to a fortuitous clash between Araujo and Gavi which saw the Uruguayan get the worst of it. After collapsing and left unconscious on the ground, the center was rescued by doctors on the sidelines, who immobilized him and loaded him into an ambulance for immediate transport to the hospital. The player still recovered before the ambulance arrived, but the Camp Nou held his breath for seven long minutes. The first instrumental tests carried out in the hospital found a slight concussion.