Celta Vigo 2-4 Real Madrid: 5 Talking Points, LaLiga 2018/19

It was a hotly contested tie in the Estadio Municipal de Balaídos which threatened to boil over, as Real Madrid came out on top against the Galician outfit. The victory, Madrid's fourth in four since firing Julen Lopetegui, means they now sit 6th in the table with 20 points, only 4 points behind league leaders, Catalan giants FC Barcelona, who slipped at home against Real Betis in a 3-4 loss.

Real Madrid started the game brightly, having control over proceedings for the first 15 minutes of the game. Celta tried to press and counter their makeshift backline but were met with resistance in the form of Sergio Ramos and Casemiro, who instantly launched the ball forward in the search for a goal.

Casemiro was cynically fouled by Maxi Gomez in the 8th minute and was taken off after much drama for Dani Ceballos in the 19th minute. Celta came really close to scoring the equalizer from the set-piece following the substitution through an Okay Yukuslu effort that came off the woodwork and was cleared by Sergio Ramos.

It was Karim Benzema who opened the scoring on the night with a sublime control and finish off of an equally exquisite Luka Modric pass in the 23rd minute. Celta were put under a lot of pressure by the fullbacks and midfielders making runs that were hard to track for the men at home. They had to resort to fouling the Madrid players for almost the entirety of the game, which lead to quite a few injuries, as Nacho, Casemiro and Sergio Regullion were all taken off with a knock in the match.

The home side went into the break a goal down, and started the second half with a lot more control on the game, and came very close to scoring with Aspas, who put his effort wide of Courtois' post. Karim Benzema struck the bar at the 50th minute through some very nimble play in the box, but the ball was recovered by the Celta players.

However, Benzema was a man on a mission tonight, as he got the better of Roncaglia in the box, snatching a poor pass from him, turning his man and shooting at goal. The ball struck the post and hit the onrushing Gustavo Cabral to go back into the net for Madrid's second goal of the night.

The home side replied by taking the game by the scruff of the neck and going full tilt and were rewarded in the form of a goal by club captain Hugo Mallo, who scored a brilliant volley past the onrushing Thibaut Courtois. Junca fouled Odriozola in the box in the 81st minute, and the subsequent penalty was knocked home by Sergio Ramos in almost trademark Panenka fashion.

Cabral's and Celta's evening went from bad to worse, as he was booked for the second time on the night at the 87th minute, leaving Celta with 10 men for the final moments of the game. Madrid made the most of this advantage, as first-half sub Dani Ceballos scored a screamer from outside the box following an awesome Sergio Ramos pass.

Celta pulled the last goal back at the 94th minute through their best player on the night, Braiz Mendez, who scored through Iago Aspas' clever cut-back, albeit with the help of a hearty deflection. Here are the talking points from this fixture.

#1 Real look potent in attack again

Benzema has looked much better under Solari's charge, scoring 4 goals in 4 games since he took over.

Real Madrid have had major scoring struggles since the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo in the summer, and needed players to step up to replace his output, as the club purchased no direct replacement for him, instead relying on patchy players such as Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio etc.

Julen Lopetegui gave it his best shot, but the Madrid attack looked toothless at times in his reign, and the club faced the worst scoring drought in their 116-year history, going for more than 8 hours without scoring a goal.

Those problems felt like a lifetime ago tonight, as Karim Benzema and Co. ran riot at the Balaidos, finding spaces to run into the shambolic Celta defence, and made the most of their chances on the night, coming away with 4 goals and a massive 3 points in the hotly contested title race.

#2 Celta needs a balance between attack and defence

Celta Vigo, despite looking vibrant going forward, conceded too many chances

Celta Vigo has scored the third highest number of goals by any club in the league so far, scoring 22 goals in 12 games. Despite all their attacking brilliance, they sit in the bottom half of the table, at 14th, just 4 points above the relegation spots.

The cause for that is their porous and extremely unreliable backline, who have conceded 20 goals so far this season, only better than Rayo Vallecano and Huesca, who sit at 19th and 20th respectively.

The centre-backs and fullbacks leave a lot of gaps behind due to the attack-heavy scheme deployed by the coach and that choice has backfired more than benefited the Vigo club, as all their good work up top is undone by weaknesses at the back.

#3 Santiago Solari deserves the job for the season

Solari has steadied the Real Madrid ship since taking over and has had four consecutive victories

The man from Rosario took over during dire circumstances at the club and has had a calming influence reminiscent of someone who had the same job, but much lesser hair on his head. His Madrid side looks much better than the one we saw in the 1-5 humiliation in the El Clasico, the side's last game before he took over.

He's had a sleuth of injuries to deal with as Dani Carvajal, Jesus Vallejo, Marcelo, Mariano Diaz and Raphael Varane have all been injured, and were joined tonight by Casemiro, Sergio Regullion and Nacho on the injured list, which is stretching the deep Madrid bench as far as it possibly can be.

Despite these hindrances compounding with the lack of a true goal-scorer at the club, the Argentinian has been superb with his tactics and team selections, getting the most out of what he has at his disposal and earning his side the 3 points in every game he's been in charge of this season.

This kind of pragmatism and approach towards the game was sorely missed since club icon Zidane resigned in the summer, and the former Castilla coach must surely be given the full-time gig by the board, as he currently seems to have the backing of his full squad.

#4 Iago Aspas' love for his hometown is holding him back

Iago Aspas, 31, is still one of the best strikers in Spain, and his talent deserves a lot more than being 14th on the league table.

Iago Aspas had another quietly brilliant performance on the night, earning an assist in the last minute of the game for his troubles. He made 35 accurate passes on the night, creating 4 key chances and completed all 5 of his attempted long balls.

He did not come too close to scoring himself on the night but was constantly buzzing in and around the Real Madrid penalty area looking to cause their defenders problems, given how difficult it is to close him down.

He created spaces for Maxi Gomez and others to run into, and his performance deserved to be on the winning side tonight. He's a player of exceptional talent and a brilliant footballing brain, and it feels like a waste at a club which isn't likely to compete for any honours in the near future.

He could be making key contributions at a club whose ambitions match his talent, but his affinity for his hometown club means he's most likely to play the rest of his prime out at the club of his heart.

#5 Madrid must reinforce in January, despite the uptick in form

Real Madrid have scored 15 goals in 4 games in Santiago Solari's reign as interim manager.

Real Madrid have had as much joy a club can have after being absolutely humiliated by their arch-rivals, going on to win the next 4 games, whilst conceding in only one of them. However, that should not distract us from the fact that these are the same players who were responsible for the club's longest ever scoring drought, and all of their weaknesses have been exposed to the entire world of football.

Karim Benzema scored again tonight and has looked sharp in recent games, but this was his first league goal since 2nd September, and his 9 years at the club have shown how good of a player he is but has also shown that he isn't a reliable goal threat.

The same goes for Gareth Bale, Marco Asensio, and Isco, all players who the club wanted to step up after the club's summer business. They have all failed to come to their clubs' rescue, and that only highlights the need of a talismanic presence up front to support their likes, and finish of the sleuth of chances that these players are capable of conjuring.

The club must invest in this area of the squad if they are to recover from their massive losses at the start of the season, and any one of the players like Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard or Mauro Icardi could really help this Madrid side to take it up another level, and be more prolific in front of goal.