Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid
The pressure was on for Real Madrid to avoid a third straight defeat in La Liga for the first time since 2008, knowing that anything but a win would put Barcelona firmly in control of the title race. It would not be an exaggeration to say that the trip to Balaidos was somewhat difficult, against an in-form Celta Vigo, who comfortably won at the Bernabeu.
Starting with a flurry that showed the atmosphere, Borja Iglesias forced a strong save before four minutes. A few minutes later, Vinicius Junior sneaked in behind the opposing team’s players in the first 10 minutes, the Brazilian was unlucky to see his effort go off the mark after coming off the inside of the post. However, the smell of blood, Real Madrid raised the tempo, and after Aurelien Tchouameni forced a good save from Ionut Radu down the left, from the resulting corner, he beat him down the left – this time off the post from the edge of the box.
After the opening goal, the game settled into a calm rhythm, but it felt more deliberate for Celta than Real Madrid. Finding space in midfield, they were able to open up their third at the back, and Borja Iglesias was blocked by Thibaut Courtois after 20 minutes. After ten minutes, it was Williot Swedberg who followed Trent Alexander-Arnold. A work zone, he found Iglesias running onto the ball in the penalty area, who fired under Courtois.
Now in terms of quality, Celta started to look the more confident of the two sides, with Real Madrid losing control of the game. The climax of that came on the stroke of half-time, when Ferran Jutgla picked out Swedberg on the right, but his unmarked effort was cleverly stopped by Courtois.
The pressure of Real Madrid without payment
A more cautious game greeted the second half, with both sides determined not to get themselves into trouble unnecessarily. Celta were putting together some intricate moves, but neither team was getting on target. After an hour, Real Madrid began to press Celta a little bit in their half. Those who lacked clear opportunities made up for it, keeping the pressure on their opponents, who had found time on the ball relatively easy up until that point.
If Celta had little reason to believe they would break the deadlock, Claudio Giraldez sent on Iago Aspas with 10 minutes to go knowing he had more quality to use. With three minutes left, Celta finally escaped Real Madrid’s pressure, with Hugo Alvarez running into the defense. Cut to Aspas, he made space on his left, shooting past Asencio and off the post.
Los Blancos looked as if their title challenge would slip away from them, but as Celta began to come out of their shell, Real Madrid beat them to the punch. Substitute Manuel Angel won the ball back almost half-time for Celta, and it worked well for Alexander-Arnold. After his cross was cleared on the edge of the box, Fede Valverde came screaming at the ball, and the deflection did the rest.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s brilliant three points in the circumstances, Real Madrid reduced the gap to Barcelona to just a point, with a goal that will raise morale again. After the opening period, Real Madrid won the second, putting a strong and mechanical press on Celta. The only thing missing was a clear sight on goal, and even if they didn’t, the win would be enough for now.
Celta sit in 6th place with a four-point advantage over Espanyol, but will feel much changed in their quest. Even though it was a battle to keep the game level in the second half, Giraldez can rightly say that his side brushed aside everything Real Madrid threw at them – until that final cross.
