Eduardo Coudet deserves the accolade of resuscitating Celta Vigo. He has concentrated more on possession and solid backline with the clear-cut-intention to press. It started to produce results and after the frustrating outcome against Elche, the Los Blancos would start 2021 against a sturdy opponent – breaking the resistance would be a tough task and ultimately Real Madrid ended up with full points.
In the opening 45 minutes, the grit and determination of Celta were evident and they posed threats.
Celta almost stole an early lead when Iago Aspas chased a ball behind the defence and chipped an effort over Courtois as he raced off his line, but Nacho – playing in place of the injured Sergio Ramos - chased back to weather the storm.
It resulted in a counterattack for Real Madrid.
Marco Asensio broke down from the left and ran down the flank with the spaces available. His cross picked out Vazquez, who headed in at the back post. Vazquez has scored three goals vs Celta de Vigo in all competitions, more than against any opponent in his Top-Flight career.
Jeison Murillo's volleyed effort struck Ferland Mendy, and Celta appealed for a penalty but the referee dismissed their appeal.
Madrid went close shortly before the break as Dani Carvajal saw an audacious volley from the edge of the box fly just past the post.
Real Madrid took full control over the match after the break and there was some sloppy work from the visitors.
The midfield trio of Real Madrid – Luka Modric, Toni Kroos, and Casemiro maintained the upper hand in the battle of midfield.
Kross was at the heart of midfield - he made 64 passes – more than any other player – with a pass completion of 94 percent, while his two key passes were bettered by only Vazquez among those in white.
A Modric interception allowed Vazquez to slide in Asensio to clinically fire past goalkeeper Ruben Blanco.
Fine play by Kroos opened up the Celta defence again on the hour but Karim Benzema lost his footing at the critical moment and flashed his shot past the upright.
Benzema squandered another late chance when he lifted a shot over the crossbar, while former Los Blancos youngster Miguel Baeza was denied at the death as Madrid saw the game out without conceding.
Celta had a better possession percentage than Real Madrid and their 41% possession against Celta is the lowest recorded in a win by Real Madrid under Zinedine Zidane at home in all competitions.
The numbers suggest it was a pragmatic approach from Real Madrid, but tactically, Zidane was sound in terms of breaking down the resistance and press of Celta. Real exploited the moments when mattered the most.
Real have won 13 of their last 15 home games with 14 of them played at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano inside their training ground - which is proving a handy home away from the Santiago Bernabeu!
Atletico still have three games in hand on Madrid, but if the Los Blancos can continue to churn out such results on home turf then they will be the main challengers for the title.
Note: This article has been posted in Cricketsoccer as CSdesk on 03/02/2021 Real Madrid start 2021 brightly
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Faisal Caesar
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