Ansu Fati on the mark again as ten-man Barca beat Celta Vigo

Ansu Fati scored his third goal in two games as 10-man Barcelona claimed their first away win over Celta Vigo for six years.

Balaidos has been something of a bogey ground for the Catalans in recent times, but Ronald Koeman’s side controlled the majority of this match, even after they were reduced to 10 men following the dismissal of Clement Lenglet.

It took 17-year-old Ansu just 11 minutes to open the scoring, poking home an opportunistic finish from inside the box after being played through by Philippe Coutinho in the Galician wind and rain.

The dynamic of the contest shifted when Lenglet was shown a second yellow card for a flailing arm into the face of Denis Suarez, but Barca adapted their system and coped admirably with just 10 men.

Barcelona doubled their advantage in the second half when Lionel Messi’s shot was deflected into the back of the Celta Vigo net by the luckless Lucas Olaza who couldn’t get out of the way in time.

Sergi Roberto put the finishing touches on the same day Barca signed a new right back Sergino Dest, reminding Koeman of his ability with a powerful strike into the roof of the net after a Messi dribble and shot was saved.

Nobody was quite sure what to expect of Barcelona this summer after a tumultuous summer, but the early signs have been extremely positive for the Catalans. After an impressive display against Villarreal, Barca backed it up with another positive performance. This one required more fight after being reduced to 10 men, but they adapted well and handled the situation. Last season, Barcelona might have crumbled in this situation.

Not so long ago, it appeared Coutinho’s Barcelona career was over. However, the Brazilian has slotted nicely into Koeman’s system and is becoming more important to the team with every game he plays. This was the best Coutinho has arguably ever played for Barca, showing nice touches, good vision and confidence when driving forward with the ball.

Celta Vigo - Villar 5, Mallo 6, Murillo 5, Aidoo 6, Fontan 5, Olaza 4, Tapia 5, Veiga 6, Denis Suarez 6, Mor 5, Aspas 4. Subs - Beltran 5, Nolito 6, Baeza 6, Mina 5, Araujo 5.

Barcelona - Neto 6, Roberto 7, Pique 7, Lenglet 4, Alba 6, Busquets 7, De Jong 7, Coutinho 8, Ansu 7, Griezmann 5, Messi 7. Subs - Araujo 7, Pedri 5, Trincao 5.

11’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 0-1 Barcelona: It's the teenager again! He has found the back of the net again for Barcelona! Coutinho played a pass through to Ansu, he turned his marker on the edge of the box and toe-poked a finish home at the near post before Villar could get his feet sorted! Barca have the lead!

43’ SENT OFF! Lenglet has been shown a second yellow card for a flailing arm into the face of Denis and Barcelona have been reduced to 10 men! Pique has also been booked for his protestations!

51’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 0-2 Barcelona: Despite being down a man, Barcelona have doubled their advantage five minutes into the second half. Messi dribbled past two Celta Vigo defenders and got a shot away. It picked up a big deflection and ended up in the back of Villar's net!

90+5’ GOAL! Celta Vigo 0-3 Barcelona: The finishing touches are applied by Roberto in stoppage time! Messi's dribble and shot inside the area is blocked by Villar, but the ball fell back to the Barcelona right back and he makes no mistake with a powerful strike into the roof of the net!

No team in Europe’s top five leagues have received more own goals than Barcelona (four) in 2020.

Clement Lenglet has been sent off four times in all competitions for Barcelona, more than any other La Liga player since the start of the 2018/19 season.