Barcelona player ratings v Celta Vigo: Aubameyang 9, Dembele 8, Araujo 7, Torres 6

Xavi Hernandez said he was pleased with the result but less satisfied with the performance after Barcelona defeated Celta Vigo 3-1 at Camp Nou on Tuesday night, but the match was overshadowed by a nasty head injury to defender Ronald Araujo.

Memphis Depay opened the scoring for Barca on the half-hour mark, before Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice either side of the interval to hand the hosts a 3-0 lead. Celta captain Iago Aspas pulled one back for the visitors early in the second half but their hopes of a comeback were dashed when Jeison Murillo was sent off in the 58th minute.

Six minutes later, play was stopped when Araujo suffered a worrying head injury and had to be taken away in an ambulance after he and Gavi banged heads challenging for the same ball. The Uruguayan defender stumbled on for a few seconds before dropping to the floor as a concerned Aspas and Eric Garcia called urgently for the medics.

Araujo was lifted into the ambulance on a stretcher, wearing a neck brace. Barcelona confirmed the 23-year-old "suffered a concussion and has been taken to the hospital to undergo further testing".

After the game, Barca coach Xavi said: "The doctor has told us he is conscious. He will spend the night in hospital but he is out of danger.

"The doctor said we shouldn't worry, that he will spend the night in hospital as a precaution, nothing more."

The victory puts Barcelona in pole position to claim second place in La Liga, with the Catalans seven points ahead of Sevilla and eight in front of Atletico Madrid ahead of the match between the two at the Wanda Metropolitano on Sunday.

"We were effective but we didn't play well," said Xavi. "It was simpler against 10 men but we struggled against 11."

Barcelona have two