📝 Iago Aspas stuns Barcelona late to hand Real title advantage | OneFootball

A late Iago Aspas free-kick stunned Barcelona on Saturday evening as Celta twice fought back to claim a point and deal a big blow to their opponents’ title hopes.

Despite the reigning champions twice taking the lead at Balaídos, they were pegged back on both occasions and now sit just one point ahead of Real Madrid, who are yet to play on this matchday.

All eyes were on Lionel Messi yet again as he chases the 700th goal of his career and it was that expectation which helped deliver the opener.

A free-kick in Messi territory on 20 minutes saw two Celta defenders retreat onto the line in a bid to keep it out, allowing the striker to clip the ball forward for an onside Luis Suárez to plant home a header.

Celta did cause problems, particularly when breaking at pace, but a combination of poor decision-making and a lack of cutting edge preserved the Blaugrana’s lead at the interval.

A midfield mistake from the visitors in the second half sent Okay Yokuslu scampering clear and he squared across goal to give Fyodor Smolov the simplest of finishes to level.

Midway through the half, Barcelona regained the lead when they won the ball back in dangerous territory before Suárez made space to swivel clear in the box and find the corner. He’s well and truly back.

But there was another twist to the tale and with 88 minutes on the clock, Celta’s main man Aspas curled a low free-kick around the Barcelona wall and beyond a perplexed Marc-André ter Stegen for a huge equaliser.

Real Madrid will now be aiming to take full advantage of this latest slip on Sunday when they face Barça’s city rivals Espanyol.