Late Fede Valverde goal rescues Real Madrid against Celta Vigo

Its familiarity doesn’t diminish its significance. The goal of almost every team facing Real Madrid is to cede the initiative, neutralizing their counter-attacking prowess and exposing their limitations against a deep block.

That is exactly what Celta Vigo attempted on Friday and nearly pulled it off, but encountered a lesson in tenacity and character from a Real Madrid team clinging to the title race. For Alvaro Arbeloa’s team, it was a resounding statement against their own reality.

Throughout the game Real Madrid pressed forward relentlessly against a Celta Vigo side that looked less like themselves than ever. Giráldez’s pragmatic tactical adjustment stifled his team, but also provided a defensive solidity that frustrated Madrid. Celta settled into a very low block, with a back five, focused on shifting as a unit and closing down the middle effectively. With Real Madrid’s flanks under control, and Vinícius Júnior largely anonymous, Celta looked relatively comfortable against the title challengers.

By his own standards, Borja Iglesias’s ability to hold up the ball was found lacking. Despite opening the scoring, the striker frequently lost possession and prevented his team from breaking on the counter-attack. Even so, every time Celta managed to string together two or three passes, they put Madrid’s defense under pressure. Even in his limited minutes on the field, the ingenuity of Iago Aspas posed a constant threat.

After first-half goals from Iglesias and Aurelien Tchouameni, it looked like the game would end level at Estadio de Balaídos. Madrid appeared to be all out of ideas, until Fede Valverde popped up in the fifth minute of stoppage time to rescue the game. The Uruguayan’s shot took a big deflection after leaving his boot but the ball deviated past Ionut Radu and into the back of the net, giving Madrid a dramatic, crucial late win.

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