Goals from superstar strikers Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior ensured a vital The League victory of Real Madrid against Celta de Vigo.
Mbappé opened the scoring for Madrid in emphatic fashion in the first half, firing home from 20 yards, before a goal from Williot Swedberg drew Celta level early in the second half.
The introduction of Luka Modric, becoming the oldest player in Madrid’s history to come off the bench, would swing the game back in the Whites’ favour. The legendary midfielder played a sumptuous pass to Vini, who then rounded the keeper and scored the winning goal.
How the game developed
The game was incredibly open in the early stages, with Real Madrid throw men forward in search of a goal as a team would in the last five minutes, as opposed to the first ten. Inevitably, this super attacking attitude left a lot of space for Celta de Vigo on the counterattack, a space they were about to take advantage of to open the scoring in the seventh minute.
A quick counter-attack culminated in Williot Swedberg finding himself clean on goal. The 20-year-old, however, faded under the pressure of going one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois, but the Madrid keeper brilliantly saved his side-footed effort from inside the box.
Celta were made to regret this missed opportunity in the 20th minute when the brilliance of Kylian Mbappé came to the fore. The France international took advantage of some loose play from the home side to latch onto the ball on the edge of the box, before firing high into the top left corner of the net.
Another of Madrid’s greats would be on the verge of doubling his team’s advantage immediately after the break. Jude Bellingham burst down the right flank and raced past a Celtic defender before curling a well-struck effort wide of the far post.
Celta would have the next chance of the game at the other end of the park, and they would take advantage of it. Madrid’s porous defense was once again exploited by Swedberg and this time he made no mistake with his finish, volleying Oscar Mingueza’s cross into the net.
Madrid had the ball in the back of the net almost immediately from the restart, with Mbappé getting to Vinicius Junior to tap home from close range. However, the goal was quickly ruled out for offside.
Carlo Ancelotti has stuck Federico Camavinga and Federico Valverde and introduced Luka Modric and Rodrygo Goes, and within minutes these changes have paid dividends. The timeless Modric produced a wonderful pass that split the defense into the path of Vinicius Junior, who rounded the keeper and slotted home to make it 2-1 to Madrid.
Celta came close to equalizing on a few occasions, with Jonathan Bamba forcing Courtois into a smart save and Mingueza firing fiercely over the bar.
GK: Thibaut Courtois – 7/10 – He made a fantastic save in the first half to deny Swedberg, but couldn’t do much to stop his goal in the second half.
RB: Lucas Vázquez – 5/10 – His defensive positioning left something to be desired.
CB: Eder Militao – 6/10 – Had to cover Rudiger too many times.
CB: Antonio Rudiger – 3/10 – Basically non-existent defensively. There were too many occasions when Celta overlooked him with consummate ease.
LB: Fran Garcia – 5/10 – At some points he advanced well but struggled a bit defensively, with Celta’s goal coming from his side.
CM: Federico Valverde – 6/10 – He used the ball well, completing 98% of his passes, but he didn’t do enough work on the ball, as evidenced by his two duels in an hour.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni – 8/10 – He won 100% of his tackles, seven duels and completed 96% of his passes. You can’t ask for much more than that.
CM: Edward Camavinga – 6/10 – His industry increased the initial objective of the game. Full of running during his time on the pitch.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 6/10 – Put in a proper shift in the middle of the park, winning possession for his team time and time again.
ST: Kylian Mbappe – 7/10 – He scored an impressive goal in the first half of the game. Start to advance in the League.
ST: Vinicius Junior – 7/10 – As is often the case, Vini was Madrid’s match-winner on Saturday evening, rounding the keeper to secure all three points in the second half.
Substitutes
SUB: Rodrygo Goes (64′ for Camavinga) – 5/10
SUB: Luka Modric (64′ for Valverde) – 7/10
SUB: Ferland Mendy (70′ for Garcia) – 5/10
SUB: Dani Ceballos (82′ for Mbappé) – N/A
Manager – Carlo Ancelotti – 7/10 – His second-half substitutions ultimately proved to be the difference between the two teams.
