By Olukayode Olumuyiwa.
A Williot Swedberg brace and resolute Celta Vigo defending stunned Real Madrid as Os Celestes earned a 2-0 win in LaLiga, which is their first league victory at the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu since November 2006. The hosts were hoping to build on an impressive midweek win but were left frustrated by Celta’s staunch defending throughout the match.
The visitors were quickly into the action, with Pablo Durán seeing the game’s first shot blocked by Fran García. Real Madrid’s early struggles continued when Éder Militão was forced off injured, having made a vital challenge to deny Durán. Despite this, the home side created chances, with Bellingham and Rüdiger taking speculative efforts, and Arda Güler and Vinícius Júnior forcing saves from Celta’s vigilant goalkeeper, Ionuț Radu.
Radu was called into action again within a minute of the restart, parrying a venomous strike from Federico Valverde. However, it was Celta who broke the deadlock in the 54th minute. After excellent work by Bryan Zaragoza, the ball found Williot Swedberg, who had just come on at halftime, and he scored with a sumptuous flick.
The match dramatically turned against Real Madrid after the goal. First, Fran García received two quick bookings for needless fouls, reducing Los Blancos to ten men just after the hour mark. Their misery was compounded in stoppage time when Álvaro Carreras repeated the trick, also picking up two quick bookings to reduce his side to a shocking nine men.
With Real Madrid shorthanded, Swedberg took full advantage. He showed composure to round Thibaut Courtois and rubber-stamp Celta’s fourth consecutive away LaLiga win and secure a monumental 2-0 victory.
This defeat ends Real Madrid’s eight-game unbeaten run in the league and their perfect home league record this season. The result leaves Los Blancos four points behind league leaders Barcelona, with pressure mounting on manager Xabi Alonso. Celta Vigo, conversely, celebrate a stunning victory that sees them climb up the table.
Galaxy Sports Production
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