Real Madrid stole an important victory in the jaws of a tie at Balaidos. Aurelien Tchouameni once again stood out for Los Blancos.
Thibaut Courtois – 8
He scored two excellent goals in the first half to keep Real Madrid level. Nothing out of the ordinary for Courtois, but nothing impressive.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4
If Trent Alexander-Arnold’s salary is his offensive production it doesn’t make it worthwhile as things stand. After one fine pass from Vinicius Junior early on, Alexander-Arnold connected with a number of wayward crosses before he was easily beaten by Williot Swedberg for Celta’s equaliser. A good second half, but he wasted the ball again.
Raul Asencio – 8
Playing with a pain barrier, Asencio was very solid and made many sharp interventions to cut off Celta’s attacks. Even when Real Madrid looked shaky, he remained steadfast in his belief and fight.
Antonio Rudiger – 7
They struggled for points in the first half, it was Rudiger and Alexander-Arnold who attacked in the first half, and they made many mistakes. In the second half, he was very clean, he penetrated the Celta players well.
Ferland Mendy – 7.5
A great return to action for Mendy, who made one crucial run to deny Fer Lopez a great chance in the second half. The Mendy of always: strong defensively, conservative with the ball.
Fede Valverde – 6.5
I’m a little reluctant to give him too much credit for a hugely deflected winner, his third effort of the game from good areas and the first on target. Valverde again looked a little lost with no space to attack.
Arda Guler – 6
Nice set-up by Tchouameni for the opening goal, but struggled for the most part after that. He got into good positions many times, but due to a lack of options and a lack of patience, he got his balls cut every time before being sent off after an hour.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 8.5
Given Borja Iglesias’ slip for Celta Vigo’s first goal, otherwise, this was another excellent performance from Tchouameni. The best of any Real Madrid player, he stepped in on numerous occasions to regain possession, shutting down Celta’s pitch. On top of that, his brilliant goal proved to be the key.
Thiago Pitarch – 6.5
Less happy than Alvaro Arbeloa, Pitarch has also been busy off the ball, tackling challenges and giving Los Blancos the energy they need in midfield. The flipside is that he continues to play at the back where he has, and he relieved the pressure on Celta many times with careless mistakes.
Brahim Diaz – 4
A largely unknown game, Brahim couldn’t get on the ball, and on the rare occasion he did, his use of it was uninspiring.
Vinicius Junior – 5
It is true that he had a small ministry. That said, in addition to his chance in the 10th minute, which he was unlucky not to see, but probably should have scored, Vinicius was very quiet. Few shots in the second half were free from Ionut Radu, and apart from that, he offered little threat.
What you are holding
Cesar Palacios – 7
An impressive cameo from the Castilla midfielder, who was playing behind the forwards when he came on. He came in to win the ball back a few times, and moved the ball quickly when he got to it. It’s promising.
Gonzalo Garcia – 4
Sent to the last 15 minutes, the only time we remember that Garcia touched the ball was to run towards the goal in stoppage time when he had to turn and play it to the free Vinicius on the left.
Manuel Angel – N/A
It came in the 90th minute. He won the ball and went back up the field, it was clean, and in the end it was an important contribution.
