Celta 2-2 Real Madrid; Copa del Rey 2016-17: result and report
Don't miss a minute of the action as Celta Vigo host Real Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey 2016-17 at Balaídos. Danilo own-goal gives the hosts the lead on the night.
Celta Vigo 2-2 Real Madrid: full time
Real Madrid managed to draw the game but lost the war as Celta Vigo go through to the Copa del Rey semi-final along with Atletico Madrid and Alcorcon. Real Madrid, and Ronaldo in particular, probed and tested Celta Vigo's defence all night but they rarely cracked. It would take a free-kick from Ronaldo to draw them level on the night and give them hope after a Danilo own-goal in the first half had given Celta a lead in the first half.
Real Madrid's hopes were relatively short-lived as Daniel Wass slotted beyond Casilla meaning they needed two to progress and ruling out the chance of extra-time. When Vazquez headed home after 90 minutes, all eyes were on Sergio Ramos. He could not get his side in front, however, as Zinedine Zidane's side were knocked out of the Copa and the thoughts of a treble were knocked on the head.
Celta Vigo 2-2 Real Madrid: second half
Min 90+4 | Danilo miskicks it but recovers to clear. Theo bongonda wins it back off Kovacic but it goes out for a goal-kick as he tries to run down the clock.
Celta Vigo substitution - Iago Aspas, who had a relatively quiet night is replaced by Fontas.
Min 90+1 | Real Madrid continue to push forward. Ramos looked to be in on goal but he was offside.
FOUR MINUTES ADDED TIME
GOAL! Vazquez gets his head on the end of a corner and it beats Sergio, who was running towards it, as it passed him by.
Min 88 | Very sloppy last few minutes.
Real Madrid substitution - Isco and Casemiro are replaced by Mariano and Morata.
Celta Vigo substitution - Wass comes off for Sergi Gomez. Another rousing round of applause.
GOAL! Game, set and match? Daniel Wass slots home after some excellent work by Aspas. It lands as the feet of Diaz and he plays it to Jozabed and it looked like the chance was gone but the ball rebounds to Wass and he makes no mistake.
Celta Vigo substitution - John Guidetti goes off to a massive round of applause. He works his trousers off tonight and he is replaced by Jozabed.
Min 83 | Real Madrid hold the ball for a solid 90 seconds around Celta's goal but the home side repel the danger. It's all getting very nervy for Berizzo's men at the back now. Backs to the wall stuff and Real Madrid can smell the fear.
Min 81 | Real Madrid with the ball in the penalty area as Vazquez and Benzema vie for possession. It makes its way out to Danilo but his cross is too close to Sergio.
Min 79 | Vazquez gives the ball away cheaply and Celta counter. Wass is in but Casilla rushes off his line and gets a foot to the ball first. Wass is down holding his shoulder.
Real Madrid substitute - Vazquez comes on in place of Marco Asensio, who had a very quiet night. Can Lucas Vazquez inject some more pace into Real's attack.
75 min update - Real Madrid might have expended too much energy in search of goal number two as Celta Vigo make yet another go at killing this tie off with their second of the game. Celta Vigo certainly rode their luck but it is still a very solid performance by the hosts.
Min 75 | Movement on Real's bench as Vazquez looks to be coming on.
Min 74 | A very hectic 60 seconds there. Ronaldo free but is dispossessed by Mallo before Kovacic gives it away and Celta break. Aspas then makes a three-course meal out of a tackle and foul by Ramos.
Min 73 | Guidetti with some space on the left. He chances a stepover before having his shot blocked by Ramos for a corner.
Min 71 | Johny is booked for a late tackle on Ronaldo. He catches Ronaldo's foot with his studs.
Min 69 | He hits a low, bouncing and dangerous shot towards Sergio but it goes wide.
Min 69 | Cabral is penalised for hand ball. Ronaldo stands over it with all the confidence of a man who just scored his last free kick!
Min 68 | Is it only amatter of time? Kovacic breaks and finds Ronaldo before the ball bounces to Benzema. He shots and it skids and slides and bounces wide of the goal. Rain pelting it down in Vigo.
Min 67 | Ramos misses and abslolute sitter. He breaks free at the back post, as only he knows how, but his header is off target. Celta look to be on the ropes here.
Min 66 | Ronaldo and Danilo pressure Theo Bongonda and he ends up fouling the right-back. Another chance for Kroos to swing a cross in.
Min 64 | Marcelo Diaz has a try but he was under pressure and it was always rising.
GOAL! Ronaldo slots home a free-kick. He has been working so hard to get his side back into this and he gets his reward. Real need another one to make this a draw and push it into extra-time.
Min 61 | Ronaldo goes down inside the penalty area. Referee does not entertain his pleas for a penalty. Replays show he might have had a point.
60 min update - Much of the same here as Real Madrid are dominating much of possession but not turning it into meaningful chances. Celta still look dangerous on the break but are backing off and only really playing in fits and spurts.
Min 58 | Kroos with another chance to swing a cross in from a free in a favourable position. It's low and almost catches Sergio out but it bounces up off his chest and out for a corner. Ramos headers the corner but it is high and over the crossbar. Real showing plenty of life in the second half.
Min 56 | Ronaldo involved again. He is not giving up on this one and he wins a corner that Kroos delivers. It is subsequently cleared by Celta Vigo, who have been extremely stingy at the back so far in this tie.
Min 54 | Ronaldo fouled around midfield. He is dropping very deep now looking for the ball. Another foul follows that by Wass and while the challenge doesn't merit a card, his reaction to the whistle does.
Min 52 | Real Madrid passing the ball around well now but getting getting close to Celta's goal, where they need to be.
Min 50 | Ronaldo looking for a penalty as Real Madrid break with pace. Kovacic pokes the ball forward and Roncaglia and Sergio Alvarez combine to deny the Portuguese attacker. Referee barely even gives it any notice - all fair.
Min 48 | Kroos swings a free in but a crouching Sergio collects as it flies over everyone's head.
Min 47 | Very slick by Celta. Guidetti cross the ball low and hard and Daniel Wass steps over it because he knew even if he made contact, he was at too awkward an angle to test Casilla. There was no Celta Vigo player behind him though.
Min 46 | Back underway at Balaídos.
No changes for either side at the half
Celta Vigo 1-0 Real Madrid: first half summary
Real Madrid can count themselves very unlucky not to be level, at the very least, as Ronaldo's chance early in the game would have gone in on another occasion. They have been very proactive, as ecxpected, in chasing the game but Celta Vigo have so much talent and organisation going forward that they are a hard team to pin down. Prior to Danilo's own-goal, the home side had chances but nothing as clear cut as the one that resulted in the goal. Guidetti will have felt he should have scored but it found it's way to the back of the net and that's all that really matters at present. Zidane has some decisions to make at half-time and it will be interesting to see how, and if, he rejigs his team to ensure they go down swinging at Balaídos.
Celta Vigo 1-0 Real Madrid: first half
Min 45 | As cliched as it is, it changes nothing for Real Madrid. They still need to score two.
GOAL! Unlucky for Danilo as Guidetti's shot is saved by Casilla and the Real Madrid defender knew nothing about it as it rebunds off his shin and into his own goal.
Min 42 | Aspas takes the wrong option! He was attacking down the right and opts for a shot that goes high and wide from an awkward angle. He had men in support and might have held it and looked for a better option. That's my opinion but I haven't scored 15 goals this season at the top of Spanish football.
Min 41 | All Celta now as Marcelo Diaz tries his luck. Casilla again saves, slightly easier this time.
Min 40 | Guidetti drives a shot towards Casilla and the Real Madrid goalkeeper makes an excellent save. The resulting corner nearly drops to Radoja but he can't get his shot on target.
Min 39 | Asensio on the break, finds Ronaldo and his cross is deflected out for a corner. Ramos gets his head to it but Sergio collects with ease. If Celta can hold out here, Real Madrid have a very complicated second half and Zidane has some big decisions to make at half-time.
Min 37 | Celta back to life now as Berizzo is up off the bench and urging his players to keep up the pressure.
Min 35 | Talk about golden chances? Aspas is through and he opts to square it with a half-hearted pass that rolls maybe three yards. That was a real squandered opportunity.
Min 34 | Guidetti, again, putting pressure on Ramos and manages to block his clearance. He has put it out for a throw to Real Madrid.
Min 32 | Isco with a letahl cross but Roncaglia gets a head to it as it flies up in the air and Sergio collects it as it comes back down.
30 min update - We might be telling an entirely different story if that Ronaldo chance went in earlier. Instead, Celta Vigo are counting their lucky stars and have reeled in some of their attacking intent. It's all Real Madrid at the moment and Celta are offering little up front. That might not bother them too much but if the visitors can get a goal before half-time, it will make for a very uncomfortable second half for the hosts.
Min 29 | Guidetti chases back again and gets a tackle in. Throw to Real Madrid. The Swedish striker came to work tonight.
Min 27 | What a chance! Ronaldo misses a sitter. Bear with me here. Cross into Ronaldo is headed, or shouldered, by Cabral and Sergio tips it onto the crossbar. The ball rebounds to Ronaldo and he misses an open goal as it bounces off the post and clear. Celta's luck just might be in tonight!
Min 26 | Casemiro dispossessed expertly Roncaglia.
Min 25 | Bongonda has a whiff of goal but his chested first touch takes it too far away from him.
Min 23 | Ronaldo cross rolls straight into Sergio's hands. Real struggling to make inroads here and have not really had a decent chance after 25 minutes.
Min 21 | Real Madrid trying to force the issue now as they press up on Celta Vigo but that comes to a brisk end as Danilo's cross-field ball misses its intended target.
Min 19 | Aspas chases down a long ball and Casilla gets a hand too it before being forced to play it out with his feet as he is outside his penalty area. A heart-in.mouth moment there for Real Madrid fans.
Min 17 | Asensio pulls a ball back but Danilo is running up to it at an awkward angle. the end result is a free to the Brazilian after Guidetti goes in with a rash challenge. The end result is a Ronaldo header that he can't get under and it goes well wide.
15 minute update - A tentative start by both sides but it is very much as expected. Celta Vigo are pressing Real Madrid high up the field and there have been chances for both sides even after just 15 minutes. Celta might feel like if this turns into a shootout, they can hold their own. It´s Real who are chasing the game. Benzema has gotten the ball out wide a couple of times early on but his delivery has been poor and have not created a chance for Real Madrid to date.
Min 14 | Danilo finds Benzema, who is drifting out to the right at every chance. His cross has far too much pace on it and Ronaldo lets him know it.
Min 12 | Radoja with a free-kick that he slings over the top to Johny but he can't link up with Diaz and Danilo clears.
Min 10 | Real Madrid being pur under pressure by Vigo's pressing. Guidetti just wins it back off Isco but Theo can't keep his clearance on the field.
Min 9 | Guidetti with a good effort that he catches with his left foot on the bounce. It flies over the crossbar and Ramos is not happy with his teammates' defending.
Min 8 | Kovacic starts a move deep in Real Madrid territory, passes to Kroos, who finds Benzema. The French striker slings a low cross in byt it is cleared. Sergio seemed to have been caught out with the speed of that.
Min 7 | As expected, Celta Vigo are not sitting back and are looking to take the game to Real Madrid. It just doesn't seem to be in Berizzo's make up.
Min 5 | A long range effort from Isco after a decent dummy by Ronaldo but Sergio is equal to it.
Min 3 | Theo Bongonda with instructions to run at Danilo, it looks like. He does that time and wins a corner.
Min 2 | An early corner for Real Madrid. Sergio Ramos lurking around the box. He scored two at the weekend but can't get near to that one as Celta vigo clear.
Min 1 | Let's get this show on the road. Celta Vigo in their baby blue home shirt and Real Madrid sporting their black away shirts.
Celta Vigo - Real Madrid: team news
Real Madrid XI: Casilla, Ramos, Nacho, Cristiano Ronaldo, Kroos, Benzema, Casemiro, Kovacic, Asensio, Isco y Danilo.
Celta Vigo XI: Sergio, Mallo, Cabral, Roncaglia, Jonny, Diaz, Radoja, Wass, Aspas, Bongonda, Guidetti.
Celta Vigo - Real Madrid: live updates
21:05 | Just minutes away from kick-off. It is lashing rain in Vigo as it is wont to do given their oceanic climate. Probably won't make things easy for Real Madrid or Celta Vigo but could make it ripe for mistakes.
21:01 | Atletico Madrid will join Alaves in the Copa del Rey semi-finals as they just drew with Eibar 2-2 but lead 5-2 after their 3-0 victory at the Calderón in the first leg.
20:53 | With Iago Aspas in such fine form this year, he will surely be licking his chops at the thought of an (forced) experimental back four.
20:47 | We also might see Casemiro at the back tonight with Nacho pushed out to the left and Danilo on the right. This is going to be very interesting.
20:45 | Jozabed, formerly of Rayo Vallecano and more recently, Fulham, is on the bench for Celta Vigo tonight.
20:43 | Celta's back four of Jonny, Roncaglia, Cabral and Mallo were excellent last week with Roncaglia impressing in particular.
20:41 | Celta Vigo have made one change to their side that player Real Madrid in the first leg. Pablo Hernandez has been dropped for John Guidetti. Berizzo opting for the power of the Swede. I don't expect an old school, long ball approach but Guidetti will be asked to do plenty as a target man.
20:33 | Celta Vigo fans promised a warm welcome for their team tonight and it seems the place is on fire! Have a look at this video from outside Balaídos just before the game.
20:31 | All of our questions have been answered with Zidane's team news. Well, not all, but certainly some. Maybe not even some. It actually creates more questions than it answers.
What we do know is that he does, in fact, trust Danilo to some extent. He might be deployed as a left back tonight, which would be a surprise. We also might see Casemiro at centre-back. He has named four natural midfielders and then Ronaldo, Asensio and Benzema up front.
19:56 | Real Madrid's Achraf Hakimi has made his first official squad tonight. It is unlikely that he starts but he has been the beneficiary of Real Madrid's recent spate of injuries. The Morroccan made his international debut against Canada in a 4-0 victory last year and the 18-year-old can be deployed at right-back, right midfield and as a more advanced right winger.
19:33 | Sergio Ramos caused quite a stir in the last Copa del Rey tie against Sevilla, his boyhood club, and his former agent has explained his move to Real Madrid recently. It's a very interesting read.
19:22 | Celta's opponents tonight have won the competition 19 times. Their latest effort came in 2013-2014 where they beaten Barcelona in the final.
19:17 | They were also beaten in the 1993-94 final by Real Zaragoza. They were trounced 4-1 by Sevilla in the 1947-48 final too.
19:14 | Celta Vigo have an excellent chance to get to a semi-final tonight. They have never won the Copa del Rey but have finished runners up three times, the latest coming in 2000-01 when they were beaten by Real Zaragoza 1-3 in the final.
19:04 | And in case you need a recap, some terrific photos of Real versus Celta last week.
18:51 | Neither team's stadiums have featured just yet but our "Rough Guide To LaLiga Stadia" is a very interesting look at the 20 grounds in Spani's top flight.
18:46 | We will be keeping a close eye out for the fireworks that are set to go off, both literally and figuratively, at Balaídos tonight too. Celta Vigo fan groups are meeting at 19:30 CET outside the stadium to ensure the atmosphere is plenty lively for the arrival of Celta and Real Madrid.
18:43 | Ronaldo did not train earlier in the week but Zidane says he is fine for the Celta game and that the "contusion" is not an injury. Plenty of eyes will be on the Portuguese's fitness tonight.
18:27 | He is not playing tonight but Gareth Bale features in the most expensive 17-year-olds in history. The names on this list have had varying levels of both success and failure.
18:16 | Some news on the Aubameyang front as Dortmund's CEO has said the club are willing to negotiate over the Gabon striker's future.
17:20 | Celta coach Eduardo Berizzo insisted that Madrid "go into every game they play as favourites" but his side will be taking a similar approach to tonight's game to the one they employed last week at the Bernabéu. "We have a defined plan and we stick to it - we don't change according to our rivals or whether we are home or away", said the Argentinean on the eve of the game.
17:01| It looks like it'll be damp this evening in Vigo with a 97% chance of rain at kick-off. Not too cold though, with the mercury hovering around the 11 degree mark. There will be a southerly breeze of just under 15km/h though, blowing across the Balaídos turf.
15:00 | Real Madrid have only managed to turn a disadvantage around twice after losing the first leg in the Cup - against Barcelona in '61-2, and then eight years later against Athletic Club.
14:00 | The big question facing Zidane tonight is whether to hand Brazilian full back Danilo another chance to redeem himself or drop Lucas Vázquez into the right back slot.
13:00 | Zinedine Zidane has called up 18-year-old Morocco international Achraf Hakimi for tonight's game. The Castilla defender can play either in the middle or on the right of the back four. You can read all about the promising youngster here.
12:00 | In case you haven't seen it mentioned anywhere, Celta are 2-1 up from the opening leg. Here's how that one unfolded on the night.
11:30 | Real's squad for tonight's match against Celta features two canteranos and two senior central defenders, as well as two much-maligned full backs and two misfiring forwards. What could possibly go wrong?
Celta Vigo - Real Madrid: match preview
Real Madrid:
Zinedine Zidane is facing something of an injury crisis as he takes his team up north to try and overturn a 2-1 deficit from the opening leg at the Bernabéu. Dani Carvajal, Luka Modric and Marcelo have all recently joined the queue for the treatment table at Valdebebas and Raphael Varane was omitted from the squad at the 11th hour as a precaution.
That leaves the Real boss with just senior central defenders – Sergio Ramos and Nacho – and his reserve full backs Danilo and Fabio Coentrão for the match in Vigo.
Compounding the uphill struggle Madrid face to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2013-14 is the lack of marksmanship from their forwards. Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema have scored only four times since the start of the year, and two of those came in the 5-0 drubbing off a desperately off-colour Granada in the Bernabéu.
After suffering consecutive losses for the first time since November 2015, Real returned to winning ways against Málaga but it was far from convincing and Celta will fancy their chances of causing a major upset in Balaídos.
Celta
Eduardo Berizzo rested most of his regular starting 11 in the 1-0 loss at Anoeta last weekend and has clearly prioritised this match.
The Argentinean’s game plan in the Bernabéu – a footballing version of “rope-a-dope” -- was impeccable. Celta struck twice on the break in six second-half minutes and made their accuracy count with two of their four shots on target finding the back of the net.
Real enjoyed 64 percent of possession but Celta were excellently drilled and simply soaked it up while looking for an opportunity to punish the home side’s defensive frailty, unerringly targeting the full back positions with the pace of Theo Bongonda and the precise passing of Pablo Hernández.
Berizzo will follow a similar game plan in Balaídos with Real obliged to chase the game from the off. With the visitors having kept just six clean sheets all season, Celta will be confident of adding to their score. As things stand, Real will need to hit two without reply to win in 90 minutes. The ball is very much in Celta’s court.
Celta Vigo - Real Madrid: possible starting line-ups
Celta XI: Sergio; Hugo Mallo, Cabral, Roncaglia, Jonny; Radoja, Marcelo Díaz, Wass; Guidetti, Aspas, Bongonda.
Real Madrid XI: Casilla; Lucas Vázquez, Sergio Ramos, Nacho, Danilo; Toni Kroos, Casemiro, Mateo Kovacic; Isco, Ronaldo, Benzema.