Real Madrid suffered a severely damaging 2-0 home defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday, ending the night in disarray with only nine men after late red cards were issued to Fran Garcia and Alvaro Carreras. The second league loss of the season leaves Xabi Alonso’s side four points adrift of rivals Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table, compounding their worries just days before they host Manchester City in a crucial Champions League fixture.
The Bernabeu hosted its first football match following six consecutive games away from home, a run that unfortunately coincided with a poor patch of form which has seen the team win just one of their last five league outings. Williot Swedberg proved to be the Galician side’s hero, striking twice in the second half. To make matters worse, Madrid also lost key defender Eder Militao to injury in the Spanish capital.
Selection Risks and Early Setbacks
With the looming, high-stakes European battle against Erling Haaland’s City squad, Coach Alonso opted to rest centre-back Antonio Rudiger, choosing to start Carreras in the heart of the defence. The break for the German defender was short-lived, however, as he was forced to come on midway through the first half after Militao pulled up injured. Raul Asencio started at right-back in place of Trent Alexander-Arnold, who has been sidelined for two months with a thigh injury, continuing a tough start to life in Madrid for the former Liverpool defender.
Celta Vigo set up in a resolute, low defensive block, successfully suffocating space for Madrid’s dangerous forwards, Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior. Despite efforts, Madrid struggled to generate clear danger, forcing Celta goalkeeper Ionut Radu to make a few good saves, including denying Jude Bellingham’s header and Arda Guler’s drive from distance.
Guler missed Madrid’s best chance of the half, sending a shot wide after Mbappe neatly teed him up. Radu also thwarted Vinicius on a rare occasion when Aurelien Tchouameni managed to cut a ball in behind the defense.
The Match Turns Sour
The second half began with Radu turning away a fierce long-range effort from Fede Valverde before Celta stunned the home side. Bryan Zaragoza crossed from the left, and Swedberg provided a gorgeous, flicked finish to beat Thibaut Courtois, putting the Galicians ahead.
Madrid quickly became wounded, both figuratively and literally, as Bellingham had blood streaming down his face after a tussle with Celta target man Borja Iglesias. The situation compounded when Fran Garcia earned two rapid-fire yellow cards inside a minute, the second for a clumsy foul on Swedberg, reducing Los Blancos to ten men for the final third of the contest.
Mbappe sent a lob over Radu but only onto the roof of the net, and substitute Gonzalo Garcia headed just wide as Madrid desperately searched for an equalizer that would not come.
In stoppage time, Madrid completely lost their composure. Carreras was dismissed for dissent after protesting a decision by referee Alejandro Quintero—a performance Alonso later criticized, stating, “I did not like the refereeing.” With Madrid down to nine players and in total disarray, Celta wrapped up the victory as Swedberg rounded Courtois to tap the ball into the net.
Celta’s Iglesias was naturally thrilled, telling Movistar: “We read the game very well, we had some luck in the chances that we had, but we did well. With the team they have and their quality, it’s hard to equal them, but we read it well, we had the ball, we played in their half, we played a great game.”
Elsewhere, Espanyol continued their superb form, securing a 1-0 win over Rayo Vallecano, a victory that propelled them up to fifth place. Roberto Fernandez netted a first-half penalty for Manolo Gonzalez’s team, marking their third consecutive league win. Espanyol now trails fourth-place Atletico Madrid by four points, with a game in hand.
Alonso was clear about the immediate future for his squad: “We have to turn the page as soon as possible. It’s only three points,” he urged. “We have the Champions League game against City to react in, and get this bad taste out of our mouths.”
