Whites Escape! Chronicle of Celta de Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid

DAVID DíAZ
Fantasy LaLiga expert
3 HOURS AGO / 3 min read

RC Celta de Vigo hosted Real Madrid at the Balaídos Stadium in a demanding duel for both teams. The Galician side approached the match with the intention of standing strong at home, while the white team arrived aiming to impose their quality and stay in the fight for the top of LaLiga. Celta sought to rely on the offensive leadership of Iago Aspas and the presence in the area of Borja Iglesias, trying to take advantage of quick transitions. Meanwhile, Real Madrid trusted the talent of players like Vinícius Júnior and Jude Bellingham to make a difference.

Whites Escape! Chronicle of Celta de Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid

FIRST HALF

The match started with intensity at Balaídos and an early warning from Celta. In the 4th minute, Borja Iglesias tested Courtois, who responded with a great save to prevent the first home goal.

Real Madrid reacted quickly and began to dominate possession. The clearest chance came in the 8th minute when Vinícius Jr was left one-on-one with the goalkeeper after a great pass from Trent, but his shot hit the post.

The Madrid pressure paid off shortly after. In the 10th minute, following a poorly cleared corner by the Celta defense, Tchouaméni caught the ball at the edge of the area and sent it to the back of the net to make it 0-1. However, Giráldezs team was quick to react. In the 24th minute, Swedberg took advantage of a defensive error and assisted Borja Iglesias, who powerfully finished to tie the match 1-1 against Courtois.

In the final stretch of the first half, Real Madrid regained control of the ball, moving it patiently and looking for spaces in the Galician defense, while Celta tried to break quickly on the counterattack. However, neither team managed to break the deadlock before halftime.

SECOND HALF

Real Madrid pressed intensely again immediately after losing possession in the early minutes. In a good play down the middle, the ball reached youth player Pitarch, but his shot was comfortably stopped by the Romanian goalkeeper.

Claudio Giráldezs men barely managed to get close to the opposing goal. However, the match could have changed when the referee was called from VAR for a possible handball by Ferran Jutglà. After reviewing the play, the referee decided not to award a penalty, considering that Aurélien Tchouaméni had pushed the forward first, which caused the hand contact.

After that decision, Madrid did not falter and continued creating danger, although without turning their opportunities into shots on target. The white team was especially threatening down the flanks, particularly on Vinícius Júniors side, but the moves lacked precision.

Already in the 87th minute, RC Celta de Vigo had the clearest chance to take the lead. After a great play on the left, Celta captain Iago Aspas cut inside and unleashed a left-footed shot that hit the post. But in the last play of the match, Real Madrid avoided the stumble at Balaídos Stadium thanks to a great shot from Uruguayan Federico Valverde that, after bouncing off a Celta de Vigo defender, found the top corner. Thus, the team led by Álvaro Arbeloa ended up taking all three points.