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

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — 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 it opened up a seven-point gap over Real Madrid before the defending champion hosts 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.

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 faces Mallorca in the league on Tuesday and Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey final next weekend. Four days after that it will start its Champions League semifinal against Inter Milan.

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.

Third-placed Atletico Madrid’s visit to Las Palmas was also decided deep in stoppage time, when the host got a goal from Javi Muñoz to snatch a 1-0 upset

The loss in the Canary Islands left Atletico 10 points adrift of Barcelona with six rounds remaining.

Las Palmas escaped the relegation zone after Muñoz poked a ball past Jan Olbak that Atletico failed to clear.

Mallorca moved into seventh after a 0-0 draw with Leganes, while Umar Sadiq struck to help Valencia rally for 1-1 at Rayo Vallecano.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Barcelona's Raphinha shoots a penalty kick to score during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, centre left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona players celebrate their victory at the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick celebrates with Barcelona's Raphinha at the end of the Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Dani Olmo, centre, challenges for the ball with Celta's Ilaix Moriba during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, right, challenges for the ball with Celta's Marcos Alonso, left, and Celta's Fran Beltran during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

Barcelona's Raphinha, left, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Celta de Vigo at the Lluis Companys Olympic stadium in Barcelona, Spain, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russian drones blasted apartment buildings and the power grid in the southern Ukraine city of Odesa in an overnight attack that injured six people, including a toddler and two other children, officials said Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin expressed confidence in his country's eventual victory in the nearly four-year war against its neighbor.

Four apartment buildings were damaged in the Odesa bombardment, according to regional military administration head Oleh Kiper. The DTEK power provider said two of its energy facilities had significant damage. The company said 10 substations that distribute electricity in the region have been damaged in December.

Russia has escalated attacks on urban areas of Ukraine. As its invasion approaches a four-year milestone in February, it has also intensified targeting of energy infrastructure, seeking to deny Ukrainians heat and running water in the bitter winter months.

Between January and November, more than 2,300 Ukrainian civilians were killed and more than 11,000 were injured, the United Nations said earlier in December. That was 26% higher than in the same period in 2024 and 70% higher than in 2023, it said.

There are renewed diplomatic efforts to stop the fighting.

U.S. President Donald Trump hosted Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Sunday and announced that a settlement is “closer than ever before." The Ukrainian leader is due to hold talks next week with European leaders supporting his efforts to secure acceptable terms.

Despite progress in peace negotiations, which he didn't mention, Putin reaffirmed his belief in Russia’s eventual success in its invasion during his traditional New Year’s address.

He gave special praise to Russian troops deployed in Ukraine, describing them as heroes “fighting for your native land, truth and justice.”

“We believe in you and our victory,” Putin said, as cited by Russian state news agency Tass.

The Russian Defense Ministry said 86 Ukrainian drones were shot down overnight over Russian regions, the Black Sea and the illegally annexed Crimea peninsula.

Russia’s Defense Ministry released a video of a downed drone that it said was one of 91 Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack this week on a Putin residence in northwestern Russia, a claim Kyiv has denied as a “lie.”

The nighttime video showed a man in camouflage, a helmet and a Kevlar vest standing near a damaged drone lying in snow. The man, his face covered, talks about the drone. Neither the man nor the Defense Ministry provided any location or date.

The video and claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate comment from Ukrainian officials.

Ukrainian officials have denied the allegations of an attack on Putin’s lakeside country residence and called them a ruse to derail progress in peace negotiations.

Maj. Gen. Alexander Romanenkov of the Russian air force claimed that the drones took off from Ukraine’s Sumy and Chernihiv regions. At a briefing where no questions were allowed, he presented a map showing the drone flight routes before they allegedly were downed by Russian air defenses over the Bryansk, Tver, Smolensk and Novgorod regions.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, called the Russian allegations “a deliberate distraction” from peace talks.

Zelenskyy said Romania and Croatia are the latest countries to join a fund that buys weapons for Ukraine from the United States.

The financial arrangement, known as the Prioritized Ukraine Requirements List, or PURL, pools contributions from NATO members, except the United States, to purchase U.S. weapons, munitions and equipment.

Since it was established in August, 24 countries are now contributing to the fund, according to Zelenskyy. The fund has received $4.3 billion, with almost $1.5 billion coming in December, he said on social media.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Security Service carried out a drone strike on a major Russian fuel storage facility in the northwestern Yaroslavl region early Tuesday, according to a Ukrainian security official who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Long-range drones struck the Temp oil depot in the city of Rybinsk, part of Russia’s state fuel reserve system, the official told The Associated Press. Rybinsk is about 800 kilometers (500 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

A previous version of this story was corrected to give the timing of the alleged attack on Putin's residence as late Sunday and early Monday.

Katie Marie Davies in Leicester, England, contributed to this story.

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

This image made from undated video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025, shows a man in camouflage standing by a downed drone at an undisclosed location that it said was one of the Ukrainian drones involved in an alleged attack on a residence of President Vladimir Putin this week – a claim Kyiv has denied as a "lie". (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

In this photo provided by the Ukrainian Emergency Service, emergency services personnel work to extinguish a fire following a Russian attack in Odesa, Ukraine, Wednesday, Dec. 31, 2025. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)

In this image made from video provided by the Russian Defense Ministry Press Service on Tuesday, Dec. 30, 2025, a Russian Army soldier fires from D-30 howitzer towards Ukrainian positions in an undisclosed location in Ukraine. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)