Playing Poorly? Real Madrid Only Cares About Three Points

VIGO, SATURDAY – Real Madrid finally ended their streak of two consecutive losses in La Liga by defeating Celta Vigo 2-1 on Saturday (7/3/2026) WIB, at the Abanca Balaidos Stadium. The acquisition of three points is, in fact, not enough to cover the performance of "Los Blancos," which has yet to improve.

The two goals scored by Real came from the first and last shots on target in the match. Aurelien Tchouameni took a precise shot from outside the penalty area in the 11th minute. He completed a short corner scheme initiated by Trent Alexander-Arnold and Arda Guler.

When hope of victory was nearly extinguished, Federico Valverde—wearing the captain's armband—fired a powerful shot that found the back of the Celta net. The goal was fortunate as the ball was deflected by Celta defender, Marcos Alonso, changing its direction and leaving Celta goalkeeper, Ionut Radu, unable to react. The goal was scored in the 90+4 minute.

The goal for Celta, which briefly equalized the score, was scored by striker Borja Iglesias in the 25th minute. The home team's goal was initiated by a quick positive transition that capitalized on Alexander-Arnold's weakness in closing space during defensive situations.

Compared to Real, Celta is actually more superior in creating opportunities. One of the best chances was held by veteran striker Iago Aspas in the 87th minute when his shot hit the post of Real's goal.

Iglesias threatened Real's goal with a powerful shot in the sixth minute. A save by Real's goalkeeper, Thibaut Courtois, thwarted the home team's opportunity to break the deadlock in the match first.

Celta had the better attacking quality, with 1.05 expected goals (xG) from eight shots. Real, on the other hand, had 14 shots, but only managed 0.87 xG.

"Playing to win is Real Madrid's goal. And that's all we want," said Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa, as reported by Marca.

In addition to avenging their 0-2 defeat in the meeting at Santiago Bernabeu on December 8, Real was able to extend their dominance at Celta's home ground. Los Blancos have consistently returned with three points from eight consecutive visits to Vigo.

Real Madrid started without a natural striker, with Arbeloa deploying Brahim Diaz as Vinicius's partner up front.

The remaining natural striker, Gonzalo Garcia, was only introduced in the second half. Meanwhile, Kylian Mbappé is still suffering from an injury.

In addition, Arbeloa also lost Rodrygo, who had to end the season early due to a knee injury. On the other hand, Jude Bellingham and Franco Mastantuono are also absent due to injuries and a red card sanction.

The lack of options in the attacking line prompted Arbeloa to instruct his players to be bolder in taking shots from outside the penalty area. Three accurate shots, including two goals, resulted from this long-range shooting tactic. This was in contrast to the four shots on target towards Celta that were created inside Real's penalty area.

"I am very pleased with the attitude of all the players, which demonstrates their immense spirit to play for Real Madrid. This match is a moment for me to witness the players realizing the significance of playing for this team," said Arbeloa.

Thanks to three points from the Celta headquarters, Los Blancos temporarily applied pressure on their eternal rival, Barcelona, who is at the top of the standings. Real narrowed the point gap to just one point behind.

Real will face Athletic Bilbao in the 27th week match at San Mames on Sunday (8/3/2026) at 03:00 WIB. Real hopes that Barca stumbles in order to reignite the competition for the La Liga title.

Arbeloa is optimistic that his team still has a good chance of overthrowing Barca in the coming weeks. Moreover, the two teams will face El Clasico on May 11th.

The match has the potential to secure the champion team of the Spanish League for the 2025-2026 season. "There are still many matches left. Every game is like a battle for us," said Arbeloa.

Meanwhile, the defeat to Real prevented Celta from matching the points tally of Real Betis (43 points) in fifth place. Celta's coach Claudio Giraldez expressed disappointment with his team's negative result.

Referee Isidro Diaz did not consider Moran to have committed a foul and therefore did not disallow Real's goal.

According to him, Celta had several chances to win. "We read the game well. We were close to winning and ended up losing. We're very disappointed because their winning goal came from a deflection in the penalty box," Giraldez said, as quoted by AS.

Giraldez also protested to the fourth official after Real scored their second goal. He believed that Real player, Manuel Angel Moran, committed a foul against Celta player, Fer Lopez, for winning the ball with a two-footed tackle.

The recovery of ball possession by Moran in the middle third of the field initiated the process of the guests' second goal. However, referee Isidro Diaz did not consider Moran to have committed a foul, thus not canceling Real's goal after consulting with the video assistant referee (VAR).

"I also made a mistake for the team's decline in play in the second half. The substitutions caused our performance to decline," he said.