Real Madrid returned to action at the Bernabéu 14 days on from their last home appearance, this time coming past Celta de Vigo to continue in the hunt for the LaLiga title with four games left to play. Arda Güler set the team on the right track with a sublime opener, before Mbappé's double made sure of the points. The Galician outfit struck back with two goals in the final 20 minutes, but our boys held strong to take a fourth successive league win.
An Arda Güler volley marked the start of a frenetic early period of the game that saw Madrid enjoy three chances, with two for Celta. A couple of Marcos Alonso headers from similar corner kicks could have opened the scoring but one narrowly missed the target, while Courtois did superbly to keep out the second. Ancelotti's side hit back with a swift counter-attack, and Lago nearly turned the ball into his own net, only for Guaita to get down well and turn it behind for a corner. Tchouameni's header then flew milimetres over the bar (8’).
Two stunners put Madrid ahead
The madridistas began to tighten up on the high press, giving them greater control of the ball as the minutes ticked by. They had Celta largely pinned back inside their own half now, winning the ball back almost instantaneously and looking fluid in the centre of the park thanks to Ceballos and Arda Güler. It was the latter of this duo who was the first to write his name on the scoresheet, with 33 minutes gone. Lucas Vázquez played a short corner to the Turkish ace, who left his defender chasing shadows and cut inside on his left foot to whip a fierce effort into the top corner past the helpless visiting goalkeeper. Six minutes later, a fine team move began with a Courtois save from Borja Iglesias, and ended in the goal that made it 2-0. Four passes were all it took for Mbappé to unleash a delightful right-footed effort from outside the box and finish off an inch-perfect madridista counter.
The afternoon's two best players linked up once more to seal the third goal with 48 minutes on the clock. Arda Güler threaded a delightful ball in behind for Mbappé, who finished with a beautifully struck low drive across Guaita to notch his 24th league goal of the campaign. Ancelotti's boys continued to cause problems for the visitng defence and enjoyed several chances to extend their lead in the minutes that followed. Bellingham and Güler both had good opportunities to take the game out of sight, before a couple of refereeing decisions that could have cost the madridistas the points.
A non-existent corner
The first came in the form of a possible red card for Lago, who pulled down Mbappé when he was the last man, but the defender saw only yellow. The second, with 69 minutes gone, led to the Vigo outfit's first goal. Gil Manzano mistakenly pointed for a corner, and Javi Rodríguez pounced on Lucas Vázquez's close-range clearance. Williot then made it 3-2 on 76', following an Aspas assist. Madrid were forced to dig in during the closing stages, but Courtois stood firm. Brahim and Mbappé both could have added to the lead in the final moments of a game that ends with a vital win for our team, meaning they head into next Sunday's Clásico looking to cut the four-point deficit.