2023-06-04 23:55:06
Celta de Vigo will be one more year in the highest echelon of Spanish football and the person in charge is Gabri Veiga. The young youth squad, just 21 years old, was the great protagonist this Sunday in his team’s 2-1 victory against Barcelona with a double that highlights the irruption of a footballer destined to mark an era. His two goals left Ansu Fati’s goal in the final stretch an anecdote and allowed the Olívico team to celebrate the centenary with the best.
Nerves, nerves and more nerves. That is what it felt like in Balaídos long before the match began. Celta risked their lives after an erratic second round and received nothing more and nothing less than a champion already in a swimsuit and flip-flops. Barça reached the last date with early goodbyes, rotations and competitive tension in clear decline. This difference in motivation was noticed at the start of the match in which Carvalhal’s men pressed on in the opposite field, had rapid circulation of the ball and even scared Ter Stegen with two shots from Gabri Veiga that, yes, did not make the goalkeeper hesitate german.
Celta
Ivan Villar; Mingueza (Kevin Vázquez, min. 67), Unai Núñez, Domínguez, Javi Galán; Fran Beltrán, Óscar Rodríguez, Gabri Veiga (Cervi, min. 71); Carles Pérez, Luca de la Torre (Tapia, min. 70); Seferovic (Iago Aspas, min. 77)
2
–
1
Barcelona
Ter Stegen; Koundé, Christensen (Gavi, 46 mins), Sergi Roberto, Marcos Alonso; Eric Garcia (Paul Tower, min. 72), Kessie, De Jong; Raphinha (Dembele, 65th minute), Lewandowski and Ferran (Ansu Fati, 65th minute)
Goals:
1-0, min 42, Gabri Veiga. 2-0, min 65, Gabri Veiga. 2-1, min 79, Ansu Fati.Referee:
John Louis Polished Santana. He warned Ferran Torres, Raphinha, Cervi and Tapia.
It was an arreón caused more by the circumstances of both teams than by a real superiority on the pitch. Barça, who had a new midfield with Eric García, Kessié and De Jong, little by little leveled their forces and participated in a small runner who could have gone either way but ended up badly.
The culés could have gone ahead if the VAR had not canceled a goal from Kessié due to a millimeter offside or if the Ivorian had been more aiming in a measured lateral cross from Lewandowski. Xavi’s men did not score and Gabri Veiga showed before the break that he is touched by a magic wand. The young youth squad, barely 21 years old, appeared for the umpteenth time this season and beat Ter Stegen in the race to turn Balaídos upside down and pass the hot potato to other Spanish football stadiums.
After the restart, Xavi tried to have a greater control of the clash, delaying Eric García to the center of the rear and gradually bringing on Gavi, Dembélé and Ansu Fati, three changes that did not modify the inertia of the clash and which gave way to the Gabri Veiga’s show, a footballer called to be a true star. He can be because of the projection he has, because of his talent, and it can also be because this Sunday he was able to throw a hundred-year-old club like Celta on his back. Salvation would not have been possible for the people from Vigo without his eleven goals and four assists and neither without his excellent performance against Barcelona. He scored the first in a crack drive and repeated in the second half with a cross shot that was poisoned and ended up sneaking into the squad of a recently admitted Iñaki Peña who must have thought that “if I know, I will not enter the field.”
From there, Barça tried to react to a Celta who took a step back to maintain the result. He managed to close the gap with a goal from Ansu Fati after Dembélé’s cross, but it was too late. The Catalans finish the League with just three points out of the last twelve at stake, while the Vigo close the course with the joy of salvation but with the bitterness of seeing how their most precious asset could have its hours counted in Balaídos. Gabri Veiga kissed the shield, cried and who knows if he started saying goodbye to him months after making his debut with Celta.
#Celta #Veiga #seals #deal #Barça