Barcelona punish Madrid draw after Lewandowski hat-trick crushes Celta Vigo

Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick to assistance Barcelona bushed Celta Vigo 4-2 connected Sunday successful La Liga and chopped Real Madrid’s pb down to 3 points successful the standings.

The seasoned Polish striker’s treble helped Hansi Flick’s broadside capitalise connected Los Blancos’ 0-0 gully earlier connected astatine Rayo Vallecano.

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Teenager Lamine Yamal besides scored for Barca successful different gripping crippled produced by the champions’ attacking approach, and Marcus Rashford produced 2 much assists.

Frenkie de Jong was sent disconnected precocious connected for Barca for 2 yellowish cards but by past the champions had secured their triumph to determination second.

Lewandowski has had a stop-start opening of the play due to the fact that of wounded and Flick said his hat-trick would boost his confidence.

“After the wounded I tin spot a antithetic Robert Lewandowski, he’s positive, helium came backmost precise early,” Flick told reporters.

“For him, for his confidence, it’s large to people 3 goals today.”

Lewandowski said the crippled was “one of the craziest” of the season, but was blessed with the result.

“Vigo is ever hard for america but present we person little points (between us) and Real Madrid,” Lewandowski told Movistar.

Flick insisted Barcelona would not alteration their benignant contempt immoderate caller struggles, including a 3-3 gully with Club Brugge successful the Champions League connected Wednesday, and it led to a chaotic archetypal half.

The champions nosed up done a Lewandowski punishment connected 10 minutes aft a handball but Celta equalised a infinitesimal later.

Rashford missed a one-on-one accidental and Celta broke distant to score, with Sergio Carreira scampering down Barca’s precocious antiaircraft line.

Missing respective injured stars Flick had called connected his squad to amusement much combat successful their lack and they were much energised astatine Balaidos.

Looking backmost to his best, Lewandowski grabbed his 2nd from an inviting Rashford transverse to enactment Barca backmost successful beforehand connected 37 minutes.

Celta rapidly deed backmost again, this clip done Borja Iglesias, who smashed location from the borderline of the box.

However, Barca went successful with the pb erstwhile Rashford’s deflected transverse recovered teenage prima Yamal, who bushed Ionut Radu astatine his adjacent post.

Both teams were much unchangeable successful the 2nd half, with Barca dominating and Celta forced to beryllium back.

Lewandowski completed his hat-trick with a header from Rashford’s country aft 73 minutes to wrapper up the win.

It was the striker’s seventh league extremity of the play successful conscionable 4 starts, showing his finishing prime has not diminished astatine the property of 37.

“We person 2 weeks to disconnect present but I anticipation erstwhile we travel backmost we play a batch better, it’s the cleanable infinitesimal to alteration things that aren’t working,” said Lewandowski.

Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski scores his side’s 2nd extremity against Celta Vigo successful the 37th infinitesimal [Lalo R. Villar/AP]

Real Madrid Frustrated

Earlier connected Sunday, La Liga leaders Real Madrid were near frustrated successful their goalless gully astatine Rayo Vallecano, giving champions Barcelona a accidental to adjacent successful connected them.

Rayo battled powerfully successful the derby clash and though Real Madrid had the amended chances, the hosts besides had opportunities to triumph a scrappy game.

They managed to bounds La Liga apical scorer Kylian Mbappe’s influence, portion keeping Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham safely astatine arm’s magnitude arsenic well.

Madrid were hoping to bounce backmost from their UEFA Champions League decision by Liverpool astatine Anfield connected Tuesday but Alonso’s squad dropped points for lone the 2nd clip this play successful the league.

“I privation to support growing, improving, with affirmative and constructive self-criticism – this is Real Madrid, we each cognize wherever we are and what we want,” manager Xabi Alonso told reporters.

“We’re successful November, there’s a agelong mode to go, we request to beryllium demanding of ourselves (but) besides beryllium measured.”

Inigo Perez’s Rayo threatened first, erstwhile Andrei Ratiu fired consecutive astatine Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

After that Madrid began to instrumentality power but the hosts, successful mid-table, held firm.

Rayo goalkeeper Augusto Batalla made a good instinctive prevention to propulsion distant a Vinicius effort and the hosts starved Madrid superstar Mbappe of the ball.

De Frutos and Alvaro Garcia came adjacent for Rayo successful the 2nd fractional portion Bellingham forced Batalla into different bully save.

Kylian Mbappe, centre, and his Real Madrid teammates could lone negociate a 0-0 distant gully against Rayo Vallecano successful Madrid, Spain, connected November 9, 2025 [Manu Fernandez/AP]