Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged a brace as Barcelona strengthened their grip on second spot with a 3-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Result: Barcelona 3-1 Celta Vigo
Date: 10 May 2022
Venue: Camp Nou
Marc-Andre ter Stegen was recalled after recovering from a stomach bug while Ansu Fati was handed a start after scoring on his return over the weekend.
The hosts were nearly gifted the opening goal after 14 minutes when Ronald Araujo's poor back pass put Iago Aspas through on goal, however the defender managed to get back and deny the Celta forward.
Other than the Araujo error, Barcelona enjoyed most of the ball in the first half but they had until the 30th minute for the opening goal as Ousmane Dembele burst down the right flank before picking out Memphis Depay for the first-time finish.
Celta looked to bring themselves level on 36 minutes but Ter Stegen produced a fine save to keep out Thiago Galhardo's curling strike that seemed destined for the bottom corner.
However, Barcelona managed to double their lead three minutes before the halftime break when Nestor Araujo's failure to clear Depay's cross allowed Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang to fire home from close range.
Xavi Hernandez's charges picked up from where they left off in the first half, as Aubameyang bagged his second and Barcelona's third two minutes after the break after turning home Dembele's cross.
Celta gave themselves a lifeline on 50 minutes when Garlhardo took advantage of a mix-up in the Barcelona defence before picking out Aspas, who fired into the bottom corner.
The visitors' hope of a comeback was seemingly dashed eight minutes later when Jeison Murillo, who had been introduced at halftime, was shown a straight for a foul on Depay who was through on goal.
The home side had the ball in the back of the net for a fourth time in the 80th minute when Ruiqi Puig fired home from close range, but his celebration was cut short due to the offside flag.
The ten men of Celta were no match for the Catalan outfit, who saw out the game with relative ease to move seven points clear of Sevilla and eight clear of Atletico Madrid.
