Celta Vigo 1-2 Real Madrid: Match review | OneFootball

It was a tough outing at the Balaidos but it did not prevent Real Madrid from edging out Celta Vigo in a 1-2 victory, in what was Carlo Ancelotti’s 200th La Liga game in charge.

Fran García began the game in place of Ferland Mendy, along with four midfielders and two forwards, in a 3-4-2-1 formation.

This formation was used by Carlo Ancelotti for the first time this season and this was clear as Jude Bellingham, who usually plays on the left side of midfield, played on the right for this match.

Celta Vigo began the match on a positive note as they forced Courtois into action in just the 7th minute and forced a save.

But what transpired around 13 minutes later, was out of nowhere. The home side were comfortably passing inside their box until an error led to Camavinga winning the ball, passing it to Kylian Mbappe and the Frenchman scoring an absolute banger from outside the box.

That goal showed what Mbappe is really capable of and this was his best goal in a Real Madrid shirt up to now.

Just a minute later, Celta thought they had equalised through Borja Iglesias but the goal was rightfully ruled offside. Even though Madrid ended the half with a lead, Celta would have thought that they were not far away from equalising.

However, the Merengues’ fears were quick to turn to reality. Oscar Mingueza combined with the midfield twice and eventually found Williot Swedberg empty in the box. The Swedish player made no mistake and with just one touch, had the ball in the back of the net.

The defensive positioning of the Merengues was questionable during that play as Fran García was somewhere in the midfield, Rüdiger took his place which ultimately left only Lucas Vazquez to mark Swedberg, which he was unable to do.

The men in blue continued to threaten and on multiple occasions were on the verge of finding the potential winner to seal the game.

But what happens to most teams who do not take advantage of their chances against Real Madrid, happened to Vigo as well.

It took Luka Modric just 2 minutes after coming on to thread a beautiful pass to Vinicius Junior who went around the keeper and found the back of the net.

But the game was not over yet as in the first minute of stoppage time, Celta had potentially the best chance of the game. However, Thibaut Courtois came in clutch and prevented that goal from happening. Overall, Real Madrid had to suffer before eventually finding a way to win against a resilient Vigo side.

It was a new system Ancelotti was trying and despite it being questionable, it ultimately paid off. But one thing is for sure – Lucas Vazquez cannot play all games from here on and Los Blancos may need reinforcements in the winter transfer window.

Thankfully, Kylian Mbappe showed what he is capable of, Vinicius did what he does best and the rest of the players suffered but did not give up.

This was a much needed win for Ancelotti’s men before the much awaited El Clasico at the Santiago Bernabeu next week.