Raphinha leads Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 comeback over Celta in La Liga

Raphinha leads Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 comeback over Celta in La Liga
FC Barcelona’s Raphinha celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Lamine Yamal and Dani Olmo during their LaLiga match against Celta Vigo at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Barcelona, Apr. 19, 2025. (Reuters)
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Updated 19 April 2025

Raphinha leads Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 comeback over Celta in La Liga

Raphinha leads Barcelona’s thrilling 4-3 comeback over Celta in La Liga
  • The Brazil forward deserved being singled out for extra praise from Barcelona’s coach
  • He had just led a thrilling 4-3 fightback over Celta Vigo by scoring two late goals

BARCELONA: Hansi Flick ran onto the field on the final whistle and lifted Raphinha off his feet in a bear hug.
The Brazil forward deserved being singled out for extra praise from Barcelona’s coach. He had just led a thrilling 4-3 fightback over Celta Vigo by scoring two late goals including a clutch penalty for an injury-time winner.
Barcelona remained on pace for the Spanish league title as they opened up a seven-point gap over Real Madrid before the defending champion host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
“It was amazing to see at this stage how this team gives everything to never give up,” Flick said. He added that at halftime he told Raphinha he needed him “as a leader” on the field.
Raphinha’s double let him reach 30 goals in all competitions this season, the best of his career.
Lewandowski injury worry ahead of big games
The loss might come at a price, however. Barcelona top scorer Robert Lewandowski asked to be substituted in the final minutes while touching his left thigh.
“We have to wait until tomorrow,” Flick said.
There is no let up for Barcelona with three titles in play.
Barcelona face Mallorca in the league on Tuesday and Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final next weekend. Four days after that they will start their Champions League semifinal against Inter Milan.
Raphinha and Olmo spoil Iglesias treble
It looked like another easy win for Barcelona when Ferran Torres fired the hosts ahead early.
But Celta striker Borja Iglesias started his spectacular three-goal performance just three minutes later, scoring on the break after Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny failed to reach a low cross.
Iglesias stunned the home fans again by scoring twice more in the 59th and 62nd from passes from Celta’s own area that were poorly defended by Barcelona.
Iglesias got his second goal after Frenkie De Jong let a long goal kick that looked harmless bounce past him, apparently thinking a teammate would control it. Instead, Iglesias pounced on the ball and drilled a shot inside the far post. Iglesias made it a hat trick when Barcelona’s defense let him run onto a long ball and dink his shot past Szczesny.
Barcelona looked done but Flick’s side quickly rallied behind Raphinha — with some help from substitutes Olmo and Lamine Yamal.
Raphinha slipped a ball through for Olmo to take Barcelona’s second goal. He then rose up to thump in Yamal’s cross with a powerful header. And with Lewandowski on the bench, Raphinha beat goalkeeper Vincente Guaita from the high-pressure penalty deep in injury time after a video review convinced the referee to penalize a foul by Celta defender Yoel Lago on Olmo.
Celta, which held Barcelona to 2-2 in their other meeting this season, fell into eighth place.
Mallorca moved into seventh after a 0-0 draw with Leganes.
Also, Umar Sadiq struck to help Valencia rally for 1-1 at Rayo Vallecano.


German soccer want compensation for developing players who switch to other nations

Updated 50 sec ago

German soccer want compensation for developing players who switch to other nations

German soccer want compensation for developing players who switch to other nations
“We’re currently checking whether there’s a possibility of coaching compensation when players switch national associations,” Rettig said
Germany have long seen players with one or two parents born abroad opt to represent their country of their roots

BERLIN: The German soccer federation (DFB) want compensation when players opt to represent other countries after representing Germany at youth levels.
“It simply makes no sense to me why a player who has been coached primarily at his club for five years but also by the federation as a junior partner should be able to switch national associations for free,” DFB managing director Andreas Rettig told news agency dpa on Tuesday.
German-born Juventus star Kenan Yıldız is a Turkish international, having played for Turkiye’s youth teams. Eintracht Frankfurt forward Can Uzun also turned down Germany in favor of Turkiye.
Former Hertha Berlin forward Ibrahim Maza, now playing for Bayer Leverkusen, plays for Algeria after appearing for Germany at youth levels.
German youth internationals Muhammed Damar and Nicolò Tresoldi are reportedly being courted by Turkiye and Italy, respectively, and the Frankfurter Rundschau daily newspaper reported on Sunday that Nuremberg defender Fabio Gruber has chosen to represent Peru.
“We’re currently checking whether there’s a possibility of coaching compensation when players switch national associations,” Rettig said. “This issue has not yet been addressed extensively. But coaching must be worthwhile for both sides, the player and the coach.”
Germany have long seen players with one or two parents born abroad opt to represent their country of their roots, while the country has also benefited from immigration as players such as İlkay Gündoğan, Mesut Özil, Sami Khedira and Gerald Asamoah have contributed to the national team’s success.
Cologne teenager Said El Mala was last week called up for Germany’s World Cup qualifiers this week and at least 12 players in the latest squad could have chosen to represent other countries. The injured Jamal Musiala chose Germany after playing for England youth teams.
“In Germany 43 percent of children under five years of age hold dual citizenship. When they’re 10 or 12 years older they can decide, do I prefer the (German) eagle or, for example, the (Turkish) crescent moon?” Rettig said.
“We analyzed the squad lists from the under-15s to the under-21s within the federation. The percentage there is significantly higher than the aforementioned 43 percent. There are age groups in which seven or eight players in the starting 11 have dual nationality.”
FIFA would need to approve and enforce any system of compensation payments. Other countries like France, England, Switzerland and the Netherlands could also expect windfalls from home-grown players’ switches to other teams.