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La Liga | Gameweek 17
Dec 22, 2018 at 5.30pm UK
 
CV

2-0

Dembele (10'), Messi (45')
FT(HT: 2-0)

Ousmane Dembele, Lionel Messi net in Barcelona win

:Headline: Result: Ousmane Dembele, Lionel Messi net in Barcelona win: ID:344961: from db_amp
Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi score the goals as Barcelona record a 2-0 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday night.

Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi scored the goals as Barcelona recorded a 2-0 win over Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday night.

The victory has seen Barcelona open up a three-point lead over second-placed Atletico Madrid at the top of the table, and Ernesto Valverde's side will therefore enter 2019 as the division leaders.

Celta had the first shot of the match inside the first two minutes, but on-loan Southampton attacker Sofiane Boufal's strike from distance was deflected wide of the Barcelona post.

The breakthrough arrived in the 10th minute for Barcelona, with Dembele turning home from close range after Messi had seen his effort kept out by Celta goalkeeper Ruben Blanco.

Dembele has had his off-the-field problems this season, but the goal was the Frenchman's 10th in all competitions during the first half of the 2018-19 campaign.

Dembele had another chance in the 22nd minute after breaking into a dangerous position, but Blanco just about did enough to put the attacker off, before covering defender Nestor Araujo managed to clear off the line.

Iago Aspas and Maxi Gomez had scored 18 of Celta's 28 league goals leading into this match, and the latter brought a smart save from Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen in the 24th minute as the game opened up.

Luis Suarez and Messi both missed the Celta goal with attempts just past the 30-minute mark, before Hugo Mallo fired wide of the post down the other end five minutes before the interval.

Barcelona doubled their advantage just before the half-time break, however, when Messi collected an excellent pass from Jordi Alba before finding the back of the net with a composed finish.

Celta had their moments going forward in the opening 45 minutes, but their defensive issues were once again on full display at Camp Nou.

It went from bad to worse for the away side early in the second half when their leading scorer Aspas was forced off the field with an injury.

Brais Mendez curled one just wide of the Barcelona post in the 56th minute as Celta looked to hit back, but the Spanish champions were comfortable in a defensive position.

Luis Suarez should have sent Barcelona 3-0 ahead on the hour when he raced onto a pass from Alba, but the Uruguay international's effort just missed the post.

The home side had two more chances in the 67th minute, but Blanco did well to keep out Dembele's strike before Mallo stopped Messi from turning home the rebound.

Fran Beltran had a chance for Celta 10 minutes later when he met a dangerous corner at the far post, but the substitute just could not turn home under pressure from Luis Suarez, and 2-0 was how it finished as Barcelona ended 2018 with a win.

BARCELONA (4-3-3): Ter Stegen; Semedo, Pique, Lenglet, Alba; Vidal (Arthur 63'), Rakitic, Busquets (Alena 86'); Dembele (Coutinho 68'), L Suarez, Messi

CELTA VIGO (4-4-2): Ruben; Mallo, Araujo, Costas, Mazan; Boufal (Sisto 76'), Okay (Lobotka 46'), Jozabed, Mendez; Aspas (Beltran 52'), Gomez

amp_article__344961 : Database Data restored...  : 
last updated article - 2018-12-31 20:30:32:
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2Atletico MadridAtletico148512181329
3Real Madrid1283125111427
4Villarreal127322319424
5GironaGirona146352018221
6Mallorca146351312121
7Osasuna136341720-321
8Athletic Bilbao135531913620
9Real BetisBetis145541616020
10Real Sociedad135351110118
11Celta Vigo145362224-218
12Rayo Vallecano124441313016
13Sevilla134361218-615
14Leganes133551316-314
15Getafe142751011-113
16AlavesAlaves144191524-913
17Las PalmasLas Palmas143381825-712
18Valencia122461219-710
19Espanyol133191226-1410
20Real ValladolidValladolid142391027-179
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