Barcelona lost their second La Liga game of the season as Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s howler gifted Celta Vigo a dramatic 4-3 victory on Sunday.
Andres Iniesta was denied his 600th Barca appearance from the outset, although he was named a substitute, as three other changes saw Arda Turan take up ’the Messi role’, Jeremy Mathieu in at centre-back and Paco Alcacer dropped to the bench.
Barca began the game at their free-flowing, one-touch best as Andre Gomes’ angled pass to the left found Arda who then played a series of one-twos before cutting the ball back to Luis Suarez in the box, but Sergio Alvarez saved the Uruguayan’s low drive.
However, it was Celta who struck first. Ter Stegen’s pass to Sergio Busquets was quickly snuffed out, allowing Iago Aspas to split the Barca defence with a reverse ball for Pione Sisto, who applied the finish.
Aspas was the Catalans’ slayer last season, when Celta ran out 4-1 winners in the corresponding fixture, and he almost bagged himself a second, the former Liverpool and Sevilla attacker driving a curler on target that Ter Stegen had to tip over.
Yet having broken away at speed from Suarez’s blocked shot, Aspas took on Gerard Pique and fired low and hard into Ter Stegen's bottom-right corner to double the Galicians’ lead, before Mathieu slid the ball into his own net. With that, Barca conceded three goals in a La Liga game for the first time since 2007.
Something had to give for Barca, and Iniesta entered the fray for the second half, his 600th Blaugrana appearance paled into insignificance.
Nonetheles, an end-to-end start to the restart saw Celta come the closest as Ter Stegen was forced into making a stop at his near post from a shot.
The game then threatened to blow wide open as Barca pulled one back through Gerard Pique, who beat Sergio Alvarez in the air and powered a header home.
The champions then won a penalty through Andre Gomes, whose shirt was pulled by Nemanja Radoja in the box. Up stepped Neymar, the Brazilian sending Sergio the wrong way.
Quite incredibly, though, with Barca pushing Celta hard for the equaliser, Ter Stegen received the ball from Jordi Alba and had plenty of time to clear the ball, but the German wanted too long and was closed down by Pablo Hernandez for Celta’s fourth goal.
Barca seemed to be out of sight a second time, but Pique did his best to drag his team from the dead, substitute Denis Suarez evading two Celta players down the right before floating a cross into the box, which the defender netted for his second of the evening.
The visitors were faced with the situation of every Celta player camped in their own box, yet a cross from the right was met by Neymar, who could only head wide from point-blank range, before another deft Denis delivery was put wide by Pique.
Celta Vigo 4-3 Barcelona
Sisto 22, Aspas 31, Mathieu og 33, Hernandez 77 (CV) Pique, 58, 87, Neymar 64 (B)
Celta Vigo: Sergio; Roncaglia, Cabral, Gomez, Mallo; Radoja, Wass (Jonny 83); Sisto, Hernandez, Bongonda (Diaz 63); Aspas (Guidetti 88)
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Sergi, Pique, Mathieu, Alba (Alcacer 81); Gomes, Busquets (Denis 76), Rafinha (Iniesta 46); Arda, Suarez, Neymar
Referee: Bikandi Garrido
