Real Madrid vs Celta Vigo Review
Real Madrid secured their fourth consecutive league win by beating Celta Vigo 3-2, keeping their La Liga title hopes alive ahead of next weekend’s crucial El Clásico match. The game started energetically with several early chances, the most notable being a header from Marcos Alonso that required a strong save from Thibaut Courtois to prevent a goal for Celta. As is typical, Real Madrid dominated possession for much of the first half and were rewarded just after the 30-minute mark when Arda Güler scored with a shot that deflected off Alonso into the top corner.
Just six minutes later, Los Blancos extended their lead, thanks to a clever save from Courtois that initiated a counterattack, finished off by Kylian Mbappé with a precise shot past Vicente Guaita. Real quickly seemed to secure their victory after the second half began, scoring a third goal when Güler’s pass found Mbappé, who calmly finished.
Celta Vigo sparked a flicker of hope by scoring through Javi Rodríguez’s close-range effort with just over 20 minutes remaining, and a comeback became a real possibility when veteran Iago Aspas assisted Williot Swedberg, who made a perfectly timed run to score. Remarkably, Real nearly squandered their three-goal advantage when Pablo Durán broke through on goal, but his low shot slipped under Courtois and stopped just short of the goal line.
Despite their late push, Celta couldn’t turn the game around, continuing their search for a first win against Real since January 2017 (with 3 draws and 16 losses). However, this statistic is unlikely to trouble fans too much, as their seventh-place standing would secure a return to European competition for the first time in nine years if they can maintain it. Meanwhile, with the gap to league leaders Barcelona reduced to four points and only four games remaining for Real, the upcoming clash between the two rivals next weekend is set to be crucial.
