La Liga: Aspas return sparks Celta’s survival hopes

With Celta Vigo in the relegation zone in La Liga, Hal Walker looks at the impact of Iago Aspas’ return to the team.

There was a tangible sense of déjà vu by the end of the helter-skelter relegation encounter between Celta Vigo and visitors Villarreal at Balaídos last Saturday evening.

Nearly 10 years ago, a 21-year-old Iago Aspas scored two goals – including a dramatic 94th-minute winner – in the final 10 minutes at home to Alaves to prevent his beloved Celta dropping to the Segunda División B. It was the moment that the Balaídos crowd found a new local hero – a welcome inspiration who could not only provide goals but a character who they would identify with: gutsy, raw and committed; as if he had been plucked straight from the stands and thrown a Celta shirt.

Saturday’s climax evoked such memories in the sense that not only it…