Real Madrid 5-2 Celta Vigo: Match review

The Bernabeu faithful witnessed a thrilling encountered where Real Madrid emerged victorious in extra time and proceeded to the next round of the Copa Del Rey.

Jude Bellingham and Fede Valverde started the game from the bench with Aurelien a Tchouaméni returning to midfield and Raul Asencio in defence.

Celta Vigo were off to a brave start and tried making Andriy Lunin uncomfortable on a couple of occasions. However, Los Blancos were not on the receiving end of any damage yet.

Aurelien Tchouaméni a few minutes later, took a shot from outside the box, forcing Celta captain Iván Villar to make a great stop.

A rather controversial decision took place in the 36th minute wherein Lunin seemed to have fouled Williot Swedberg as the Ukrainian went for the ball but missed it and fouled the Vigo player instead.

Without any VAR check, play continued as Kylian Mbappe received the ball and went almost from the halfway line and scored an amazing goal to put the Merengues into the lead.

Even though the Frenchman had options inside the box, he went for the shot on his own which showed that he seems high on confidence and self-belief.

Madrid took as many as 8 shots in the opening half with the Celta goalkeeper failing to make a single save.

In the 2nd half, it took Carlo Ancelotti’s side just 3 minutes to double the lead after Mbappe played a through ball to Brahim Díaz, with the Moroccan finding Vini who helped the ball into the back of the net.

The Brazilian had another chance to perhaps bury the game completely after he tried to chip one over the goalkeeper but the Celta defender backed up and cleared the ball way before it even reached the goal.

Celta Vigo took the occasional shot and threatened the Madrid goal a few times but Lunin was up to the task.

Arda Güler thought he had scored the third of the night but Vinícius – who passed him the ball – was offside during the buildup.

What all seemed like a comfortable one sided victory, turned into a challenge.

Jonathan Bamba took the opportunity with both hands after Eduardo Camavinga played a clumsy pass and Bamba was assisted by Pablo Duran.

Raul Asencio, who was having a great game until then, made a foul inside the box. This time – Vigo received a penalty. Marcos Alonso converted the penalty and forced the game into extra time.

Ancelotti by this point had already brought on Güler, Camavinga, Valverde, Endrick and even Jude.

Despite Celta Vigo having the momentum and even hitting the woodwork once, were unable to make the most of their opportunities – and ultimately paid for the mistake.

Güler recorded an assist for Endrick who, with his insane shot power gave Madrid the lead as the fans now breathed a sigh of relief.

Just a few minutes later, Fede Valverde added another outrageous goal to his insane catalogue after the Uruguayan scored yet another long range banger.

To seal the game, Güler assisted Endrick yet again and this time the 18-year old scored from a back heel.

Endrick ended up dedicating both his goals  to Antonio Rüdiger, who had helped the youngster so far in his Madrid career.

Los Blancos qualify for the quarter finals of the Copa Del Rey, with the draws set for 20th January.

Carlo Ancelotti would hope his side would carry this momentum into the upcoming league and Champions League fixtures.