Barcelona fought back from 3-1 down to beat Celta Vigo 4-3 in a rollercoaster encounter, with a stoppage-time penalty by Raphinha extending their lead over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga to seven points.
Barcelona took the lead in the 12th minute through Ferran Torres but conceded an equaliser three minutes later when Wojciech Szczesny misread a cross and allowed Borja Iglesias to score. The Spanish forward then stunned the home fans when he scored two more goals in the second half, twice racing through to beat the keeper on his way to a hat-trick.
However, Barça’s Dani Olmo and Raphinha soon netted four minutes apart to draw level at 3-3. Celta held on for almost half an hour but conceded a late penalty for a foul on Olmo which was awarded after a check by the video assistant referee, with Raphinha stepping up to fire the ball into the top corner in the 98th minute.
Real will seek to return Barcelona’s advantage to four points when they host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night.
In Germany Bayern Munich had little trouble beating lowly Heidenheim 4-0 to put themselves within touching distance of the Bundesliga title. The table now shows Bayern at the top with 72 points, nine clear of Bayer Leverkusen who face St Pauli on Sunday, with four rounds left to play.
With Bayern racing into a three-goal lead after just 36 minutes – courtesy of Harry Kane’, Konrad Laimer and Kingsley Coman – there was little doubt about the outcome. Joshua Kimmich then rifled a shot home for 4-0 in the 56th minute as Bayern surged ahead at full throttle in their pursuit of another league crown.
Heidenheim, fuelled by pride and eager to salvage something from an otherwise dismal performance, came close to pulling back a goal just after the hour mark. But Bayern keeper Jonas Urbig was sharp and alert, diving low to deny Sirlord Conteh with a smart save. For the hosts, the situation looks bleak: they are third from bottom in the relegation playoff places with 22 points, seven behind St Pauli, who occupy the last safe spot.