Kylian Mbappe got his name on the scoresheet twice
Real Madrid got back to business as they returned to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu with a 3-2 victory over Celta Vigo on Sunday afternoon, as Arda Güler scored the opener before a Kylian Mbappé double seemed to wrap up the home win. On 69 minutes, Javier Rodríguez’s tapped in from a corner and Iago Aspas was then introduced to set up Williot Swedberg for 3-2 on 76 minutes, with Celta making Real Madrid sweat to seal the three points.
Three answers
1. How would the defence get on with so many injuries?
Dani Carvajal, Éder Militão, Antonio Rüdiger, David Alaba and Ferland Mendy were all unavailable for this game, and arguably make up the list of Real Madrid’s five strongest defenders. The line-up put out saw Lucas Vázquez start on the right, with Aurélien Tchouameni and Raúl Asencio in the middle and Fran García on the left. Celta targeted Real Madrid with long, direct passes through the middle, looking to catch out Raúl Asencio in particular with Borja Iglesias running in behind. Beyond that, Celta Vigo really threatened Real Madrid very little. Thibaut Courtois was called into some good saves, but many of those were caused by fortunate deflections or rapid counter-attacks which Real Madrid could do little to prevent. The duo of Asencio and Tchouameni looked to work well, and neither Lucas nor García were exposed. It was an afternoon to settle the nerves, even though things went downhill after Ancelotti opted to give Jacobo Ramón a La Liga debut on 67 minutes. Celta went on to score twice, with Javi Rodríguez tapping in as the most alert man at a corner and Williot Swedberg again looking more energetic than the Real Madrid backline to add a second seven minutes later. The lesson: Real Madrid have a back four which can compete, but they can’t risk any further changes or any complacency.
2. Would this Celta Vigo be a trickier opponent than in the previous 21 meetings?
Coming into this game, Real Madrid hadn’t lost to Celta Vigo in 21 consecutive league meetings, Real Madrid’s longest such record against any team. That run now sits at 22. 20 of those 22 games had ended with a Real Madrid win, with two draws, and scoring in all 22 meetings with an average of 3.2 goals per game. In fact, it has been almost two decades since Celta Vigo won at the Bernabéu, which came in November 2006 with Fabio Capello in the dugout. This time, Celta visited 7th in La Liga, pushing for European qualification and in reasonable form in recent weeks. They were certainly no pushovers on paper, but Real Madrid got the job done and extended their strong run of form against the Galicians.
3. Could Real Madrid keep the pressure on Barcelona before the season-defining Clásico?
Saturday night saw Barcelona struggle to come back from behind to eventually secure a 2-1 win over already-relegated Real Valladolid, so a win was needed to keep the points gap at four points, and was sealed. One of the concerns coming into the game would have been the number of Real Madrid players who were one yellow card away from suspension, with the Clásico the next game. Lucas Vázquez, Aurélien Tchouameni and Dani Ceballos all start with that situation, but all three avoided seeing yellow from referee Jesús Gil Manzano. Perhaps more fortunate on that front was Jude Bellingham, who was shown a yellow card from a high challenge on the halfway line in the first half. Add in the fact that Kylian Mbappé looked to be back to his clinical best, and Carlo Ancelotti may be feeling more optimistic now than he was before this fixture.
Three questions
1. Should we have seen Arda Güler earlier this season?
One of the few bright sparks of recent weeks has been the form of Arda Güler since he came into the team and operated in this more central role, where he has looked far more at home than when previously deployed wide on the right. By scoring the first goal with a daring shot from a wide angle with only 0.02 xG, he added life to a tie which looked to be lacking inspiration, and then went on to assist Kylian Mbappé and have other chances himself. He generated more chances than any other player on the field with four. Playing deeper on the right and then looking to cut inside into the box in more central areas, this newfound role for him is working well and allowing the Turkish youngster to show what he’s capable of on the ball and with some smart movement on it. There are no longer signs of defensive weaknesses or fitness issues, and it begs the question of why Real Madrid have waited so long to unleash him.
2. Is there a chance Kylian Mbappé could end the season as Pichichi?
After such a slow start to the campaign, there has never been much conversation around the possibility of Kylian Mbappé winning the Pichichi award for La Liga’s top scorer in his debut season at Real Madrid. Injury to Robert Lewandowski, who has missed the last two weeks and remains a doubt for the Clásico next weekend, means that Mbappé has been able to cut the distance and is now on 24 goals, only one behind the Polish international on 25. Mbappé’s double here ended a run of four games without a goal in the league, including two missed by injury, and allowed him to make the most of Lewandowski’s recent absence. With Barça likely to also have one eye on the Champions League should they reach the final, Mbappé has a real chance of catching Lewandowski and securing the Pichichi for himself.
3. Are we gearing up for the end of Luka Modrić?
With such limited squad options, it was thought possible that Luka Modrić would come in for a start at the Bernabéu on Sunday. With Jude Bellingham an injury doubt, Dani Ceballos only just working his way back into the action, it seemed a reasonable opportunity to field the captain in midfield. Instead, it seems that the victim of Arda Güler’s rise is the Croatian veteran. Heading into the final two months of his contract as a Real Madrid player, each time Modrić makes his way off the bench, this time not until 74 minutes, it becomes increasingly more of a testimonial feel. With a new coach almost certain to arrive this summer, it seems that they could do so without Modrić on the scene. His farewell to the Bernabéu looks almost certain to be in only two games’ time, when Real Sociedad visit to wrap up the season at the Bernabéu on May 25th.
