Robert Lewandowski scored a hat trick as Barcelona cut Real Madrid’s lead in La Liga with a 4-2 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Real Madrid’s title push faltered earlier in the day with a goalless draw against Rayo Vallecano – their second straight stumble after a Champions League loss at Liverpool – opening the door for Barcelona to close the gap. Lewandowski took full advantage, while teenager Lamine Yamal added flair and creativity as the Catalans moved within three points of the summit.
Elsewhere, Villarreal extended their winning streak to three matches with a 2-0 victory at Espanyol to remain third, five points behind Madrid. Atlético Madrid followed closely in fourth after a 3-1 home win over Levante, sitting six points off the pace.
Barcelona’s defensive struggles persisted – they have conceded 16 goals in their last eight matches and have not kept a clean sheet since September – but their attack came through again to secure the victory on the road.
“We made some mistakes, but we did much better in the second half, with more control of the ball and the game, and we defended much better,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.
The result ended Celta’s five-game winning streak in all competitions.
It was a frantic first half in Vigo, with Celta twice rallying after Lewandowski’s goals. Yamal put the visitors ahead in first-half stoppage time, and Lewandowski sealed the victory in the 73rd minute.
Lewandowski, who has missed playing time this season because of injury, had not scored for Barcelona since September in a league win against Real Sociedad.
“In the end, we are very happy because we won a very difficult game,” Lewandowski said. “Here it’s always difficult to play.”
Sergio Carreira and Borja Iglesias scored for Celta.
Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong was sent off in second-half stoppage time after being shown a second yellow card.
Madrid’s attack struggled again, remaining scoreless after having found the net in every match this season until the 1-0 defeat at Liverpool on Tuesday.
“We know where we are,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said. “You have to know how to balance the good times and the bad times. It’s a long season. The demands are huge, but we can cope with them and we’re preparing for them.”
Madrid had won 13 of their 15 games in all competitions this season, with the setbacks coming against Liverpool and Atlético Madrid in a 5-2 league loss in September.
Alonso said it was “one game at a time” for his team.
“After the Anfield game, which is now behind us, today was one of those games that’s a bit difficult to bring us back to the level we want to be at,” Alonso said. “In the second half anything could have happened. I don’t put it down to emotional peaks. We want to be very stable in our preparation and in our mentality, because we know the league is about taking it one game at a time.”
Alonso said his main concern is ensuring the team keeps improving and “engaging in positive self-reflection.”
“This is Madrid and we all know where we are,” he said. “It’s still November; there’s a long way to go. We have to be demanding of ourselves and also prudent.”
Rayo, sitting 12th, had lost 4-0 at Villarreal in their previous league game but were coming off consecutive victories in the Europa League and Copa del Rey.
Seventh-place Athletic Bilbao snapped a three-game losing streak in all competitions, beating Oviedo 1-0 with a 25th-minute goal by Nico Williams, who got past three defenders with a fine run down the left flank before firing into the net from a tight angle.
It was the sixth straight match without a win for last-place Oviedo in all competitions.
Vedat Muriqi scored a first-half goal as Mallorca defeated eighth-place Getafe 1-0 at home. Valencia’s winless run in the league reached seven games after a 1-1 home draw with fifth-place Real Betis. Valencia, in 17th place, equalised with a goal from Luis Rioja in the 82nd minute.
