Ronald Koeman also convincingly won his second match as coach of FC Barcelona on Thursday. The Spanish top club was 0-3 too strong for Celta de Vigo in the second round of La Liga.
The victory is special for Barcelona, as the club last won at Celta in April 2015. Since then, there have been three draws and three losses in Galicia.
In bad weather conditions, Barcelona was the better team in Estadio Balaídos. It was 0-1 early by top talent Ansu Fati, after which the score was increased in the second half by Lucas Olaza (own goal) and Sergi Roberto, who scored in the final seconds after a nice play by Lionel Messi.
A blemish on the victory was that Barcelona had to continue with a man less just before half-time. Defender Clément Lenglet got, to the incomprehension of his teammates and Koeman, his second yellow card and therefore red.
Koeman brought Barcelona back into a 4-2-3-1 system, opting for the same names as Sunday against Villarreal when they won 4-0. It meant that Frenkie de Jong was once again one of the two controlling midfielders.
The first real test for Koeman’s Barcelona will follow this Sunday, when Sevilla comes to Camp Nou. The Europa League winner beat Levante 1-0 on Thursday (goal Youssef En-Nesyri) and is also clear in La Liga after two games.
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Ronald Koeman had every reason to laugh at Estadio Balaídos. (Photo: ANP)
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