Celta 0-1 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points as Bellingham wins a game marred by injury to Vini Jr. | La Liga 2023-24

Real Madrid bagged a closely-contested 1-0 win against Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday, August 26.

Celta have endured a rocky start to the new campaign, putting up just a solitary point on the board in two games. They lost 2-0 to Osasuna on the opening day, before playing out a 1-1 draw against Real Sociedad last weekend. Rafael Benitez and his men were eager to hit the ground running as they looked for a positive result.

Los Blancos, on the other hand, have enjoyed a perfect start to the season, winning both their games. They defeated Athletic Club 2-0 on opening day, before a comfortable 3-1 win against Almeria last weekend. Despite a couple of injury setbacks, Carlo Ancelotti looked to maintain his team's perfect start as he named a strong lineup with Kepa Arrizabalaga making his debut.

The first half was an evenly-contested affair with Real Madrid dominating possession, but Celta Vigo having the better chances to score. Both teams faced one injury setback each, as the hosts lost Franco Cervi while the visitors lost Vinicius Junior to injuries.

Celta appeared to have made a dream start with a goal from Jorge Strand Larsen just four minutes in. However, it was cancelled due to a foul in the build-up. They attempted eight shots with three of those on target with 35% possession of the ball. Real Madrid, on the other hand, attempted five shots and hit the target once with 65% possession.

The first half ended 0-0.

Besides the forced substitution of Vinicius, Ancelotti made two key changes just 15 minutes after the restart as he brought on the veteran pair Luka Modric and Toni Kroos. This helped Real Madrid control the tempo of the game as they kept 64% of the ball in the second period. With that, they attempted five shots, hitting the target twice.

However, Los Blancos had to wait until the final 10 minutes for their opener. Jude Bellingham met Joselu's knocked-on header, showing strength to hold off a challenge before nodding home to make it 1-0 after 81 minutes. There were five minutes of stoppage time added at the end, with both sets of players receiving multiple bookings in a heated end to the contest.

After seven minutes of added time, the referee finally brought an end to the game as Real Madrid secured a 1-0 win over Celta Vigo. On that note, let's take a look at the five major talking points from the game.

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#5. Real Madrid were behind inside 5 minutes but the goal was overturned

Just like last week, Los Blancos conceded a goal and fell behind inside the first five minutes of the game. Despite it being just the third game of the season, starting slow against smaller teams could cost them momentum and confidence going forward.

The same happened today as debutant Kepa struggled to clear the ball from a cross as his punched effort fell straight to Jorgen Strand Larsen. The Norwegian took a touch before firing the ball into the bottom-left corner as Kepa was wrong-footed. However, the goal was then cancelled following a VAR check for a foul in the build-up.

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#4. The visitors were dealt a blow as Vinicius Jr. walked off injured

Having suffered a scare early in the game, Real Madrid were eager to push forward to try and change the tilt of the field. They had the ball marginally more than Celta, who looked potent with the ball at their own feet.

In a bid to try and score, both of Madrid's wingers looked to take defenders on as they looked to make inroads on the wings. They were met with some hard tackles and had to adjust to a tough physical battle early on. Vinicius suffered a blow to his thigh as he hobbled following a tackle, before eventually being subbed off a few minutes later. He was replaced by Joselu.

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#3. Real Madrid lacked their usual bite in the final third

In most games they play, Real Madrid tend to blow away weaker opposition with their sheer quality in every position across the pitch. However, they were unable to exercise this control on the game, especially in the first half.

Los Blancos kept the ball for 65% of the time, attempting five shots but managing to hit the target just the one time. In addition, Celta Vigo seemed to have blown a couple of great chances to grab the lead. They attempted eight shots of which three were on target. Two of those were great chances to score but Kepa made decent saves.

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#2. Rodrygo misses second-half penalty for the lead

Midway through the second period, the visitors really tried upping the ante as they strung together some good moves. Rodrygo was the focal point of most of these following Vinicius' injury earlier in the game and he did not disappoint.

Through on goal in the 68th minute, Rodrygo only had Celta Vigo 'keeper Ivan Villar to beat. However, he was tripped by the custodian and the referee awarded a penalty. The Brazilian then stepped up to take it but saw his shot saved by the outstretched hand of Villar, diving to his right.

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#1. Jude Bellingham scores yet another clutch goal for Los Blancos

Having been thwarted for the better part of 80 minutes, Real Madrid needed to pull a rabbit out of the hat to secure a win. Cometh the hour, cometh the man as Jude Bellingham converted to mark his fourth goal in just three league games for the club. What's impressive is that his goals have played a direct part in the team winning the games and the points.

The ball was delivered into Celta's box with their defenders unable to deal with it, allowing Joselu to knock the ball forward. It fell kindly to Bellingham, who nodded it into the net to make it 1-0 after 81 minutes. In all fairness, he was Los Blancos' player-of-the-match for his performance.