Real Madrid 3-2 Celta: Mbappé and Güler keep the Whites alive before the Clásico

Real Madrid returned to victory in LaLiga with a hard-fought win against Celta (3-2). After the 'blow' that the defeat in the Copa del Rey final against FC Barcelona (3-2) represented, the 'merengues' fulfilled their obligation to win at home to keep the fight for the league title alive.

Against a Celta that had already seriously complicated things for Barça in Montjuïc a couple of weeks ago (4-3), Madrid found a fairly placid match at the beginning where the striking power of Arda Güler and Kylian Mbappé made the difference in favor of Carlo Ancelotti's team.

The Galicians had a couple of clear opportunities before the break, but Thibaut Courtois responded well to keep his goal undefeated. Afterwards, with the 2-0 before halftime, Claudio Giráldez's team seemed to give up, but everything changed in the second half.

Arda Güler remains inspired: great goal and assist to guide Madrid against Celta

The first clear chance of the match was for Aurélien Tchouaméni, with a header, after a corner served by Güler from the right. However, unlike the match against Barça in La Cartuja, this time the Frenchman failed in his shot.

Madrid took total control of possession, with Celta retreating into their own half to try to do damage on the counter. After half an hour of play, Arda opened the scoring with a good crossed left-footed shot from the right side of the area.

After a short corner, Lucas Vázquez passed the ball to the Turk and he found the space to take a powerful shot straight into the top corner, impossible for Guaita.

With the 1-0, there was a reaction from the Celestes, with a double chance neutralized by Courtois. The Belgian made a saving save from a shot by Borja Iglesias and, right after, the Whites put together a lethal counter-attack with a long ball for Mbappé.

The '9' started running from his own half and, upon entering the area, shot with his right foot, falling down. Despite not hitting the ball well, the shot came out with the ideal placement and power to shoot down a Guaita who took longer than expected to come out and close down.

Mbappé made it 3-0 after the break

Kylian Mbappé, in the action of his second goal against Celta (3-2)

Thus, in 40 minutes, Madrid was on track for victory with a 2-0 partial. After the break, Güler filtered a pass taken advantage of by Mbappé to surpass Yoel Lago in speed. The Frenchman took off in a run and took a crossed shot to seal the 3-0.

The match seemed totally settled, with a Celta clearly surpassed in the center of the field. However, Giráldez's changes changed the face of the team and Madrid, as on so many other occasions in 24/25, relaxed more than necessary.

The Spanish coach put in Hugo Álvarez, Ilaix Moriba and Williot Swedberg, in addition to Iago Aspas. The entry of the captain was decisive for the Celta team to let loose in attack, generating an unexpected stupor in the Santiago Bernabéu in the final minutes.

Celta put Madrid against the ropes in the last quarter of an hour

Iago Aspas, celebrating one of Celta's goals against Real Madrid (3-2)

In the 69th minute, Marcos Alonso anticipated to finish with a heel a corner served from the left. Lucas Vázquez avoided the goal on the goal line, but his clearance was short and Javier Rodríguez took advantage to finish at will.

Although the difference was still wide, Madrid, already without Raúl Asencio in the defense, had a really bad time in the last 20 minutes. Afterwards, with the entry of Aspas, Swedberg made Celta's second after a pass filtered by the '10'.

The Swede won the race against Tchouaméni and the entered Jacobo Ramón and, in the blink of an eye, the match became 3-2 to turn the last 15' into a hellish back and forth.

In the 78th minute, another great pass from Aspas ended in a crossed shot from Pablo Durán, saved in two stages by Courtois almost on the goal line. The Belgian reappeared ten minutes later, stopping a shot from Iago from the edge of the area that almost ended in a draw.

The locals also had a couple of opportunities to extend the lead, with defective shots from Jude Bellingham, Brahim Díaz and Mbappé himself. In the end, with drama, the 'merengues' managed to sustain the advantage.

Real Madrid ensures to arrive alive to the Clásico against Barça

In this way, Real Madrid was again 4 points behind Barcelona, ensuring to arrive with options to fight for the championship until the end in case of winning the Clásico next Sunday, May 11 in Montjuïc.

The Whites, yes, are obliged to win the 4 matches that remain in the tournament. Barça, for its part, will practically liquidate LaLiga if it defeats Ancelotti's team for the fourth consecutive time in 24/25.

A Blaugrana victory will allow the Culés to escape to 7 points, with only 9 to be played for. Mathematically, the Blaugrana team would be champion in matchday 36 if they defeat Espanyol in Cornellà.

Match details: Real Madrid 3-2 Celta de Vigo

• Real Madrid, 3: Courtois; Lucas Vázquez, Tchouaméni, Asencio (Jacobo Ramón, min. 67), Fran García; Valverde, Ceballos (Modric, min. 74), Güler (Brahim, min. 83), Bellingham; Vinicius and Mbappé.
• Celta de Vigo, 2: Guaita; Javi Rodríguez, Yoel Lago, Marcos Alonso, Carreira (Álvarez, min. 54); Fran Beltrán (Moriba, min. 54), Hugo Sotelo (Iago Aspas, min. 75), Mingueza; Fer López, Alfon (Swedberg, min. 65) and Borja Iglesias (Pablo Durán, min. 65).
• Goals: 1-0, Arda Güler (min. 33); 2-0, Kylian Mbappé (min. 39); 3-0, Kylian Mbappé (min. 48); 3-1, Javier Rodríguez (min. 69); 3-2, Williot Swedberg (min. 76).
• Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano. Cautioned Jude Bellingham and Jacobo Ramón for Real Madrid. In Celta, he only warned Yoel Lago.
• Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu
• Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 34 of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25.