Celta attacks the Bernabéu and Xabi’s men finish with nine

He the real Madrid of Xabi embrace its harsh reality. On his return a month later to Bernabéu, The white team was defeated by Celtic of Vigo. He lost everything, even his papers, and is now four points behind. Barca. (Story and statistics: Real Madrid 0-2 Celta)

A dull first half and a chaotic second half brought out the worst in this Madrid which plays without ideas. The final touch was Xabi’s decision to play on the Asencio, burned by Bryan Zaragoza, and self-expulsion within 60 seconds Fran Garcia.

A double of Swedberg gave victory to Celta, who 19 years later won again in La Liga at the Bernabéu. Towards the end of the match, despair consumed Madrid and the stadium and Races He also saw red.

Madrid are yet to win two games in a row since the end of October and have won just one of their last five league matches. And in three days, whoever visits the Castellane is he Manchester City of Guardiola And Haaland.

To make matters worse, Militao left injured in the first half. Very worrying for the Brazilian, who could be absent for several months. Xabi finds himself without four or five of his defenders at the worst possible time.

36 days. That’s how long it took Real Madrid to return to the Santiago Bernabéu since their last match there. Time when everything changed for Xabi Alonso. I simply failed in a 14-a-side match – the derby of Metropolitan- win two -Olympiacos And Athletic- of the six played this month away.

It was a test for Xabi and his players, and Alonso brought out all the available arsenal. Although on defense, things are as they are, and they would even get worse later. Thus, Carreras left the center and entered Asencio and Valverde -sometimes midfielder, sometimes winger-managed the right side in one way or another.

Celta arrived at the Bernabéu having learned what has worked in recent weeks for teams like Elche. Security in defense and quick start of games thanks to a player who does not have the ball, in this case, Bryan Zaragoza.

The first minutes were difficult for Madrid. A celestial counter was scary and Bryan put Asencio in difficulty. It was only after the 15th minute that the first white opportunity arrived: a shot from Militao in a corner which he blocked. Radou.

Militao is worried

In a few minutes, the Brazilian central defender went from a header to an exclusion. He collapsed on a run in a play that was offside for his rival. The fact that linemen no longer dare raise the flag until the plays are over – no matter how clear they are – also causes things like this. It looks bad for Militao, who will undergo tests this Monday on the ischium of his left leg.

About Militao – he entered Rudiger on the contrary – made Madrid even more tense. The atmosphere at the Bernabéu faded to the rhythm of the beat. It was only after a long shot of Guler The face of the white team changed in the final stretch of the first half.

The Turk then missed a very clear shot to make it 1-0 and Radu, who saved everything he had to save, took a good hand to Vinicius in the shed. Disappointing first half, marked in particular by the very little creativity of Xabi’s team.

Alonso made no changes at halftime, but he got Rodrygo hot early in the second half. Decision which is not supported by a large part of Real Madrid supporters today. Madrid could not get going and the tragedy, already evident, was consummated in the 54th minute.

The Heel of Chaos

Another superb play from Bryan, much to the delight of his team, resulted in a superb backheel goal from Swedberg. The Bernabéu caught fire, as did Courteous with his teammates, and Xabi hit Asencio, replacing him with Rodrygo. 0-1 and new drama in sight.

With more than half an hour remaining to resolve the disaster, it was urgent to activate Mbappé and Vinicius. Until that moment, Güler had hardly distinguished himself in the offensive phase. A very bad record for what we expect from an attack like Madrid’s.

Instead, the team fell into despair. This was seen in a bloodied Jude, who saw yellow for returning to the field without the referee’s permission, but the biggest reflection was Fran García. The young player did something that could well mark the rest of his career in Madrid: two yellow cards in 60 seconds and goodbye to the match. Xabi’s gesture – and phrase – to the side spoke volumes and more.

Below on the dashboard and with ten. The mission became more and more complicated in Chamartín. Nor the referee’s decisions Quintero Gonzalez They rained on the stadium, which increased the loss of nerves. Even Xabi saw the box.

But impossible things never existed at the Bernabéu and everything could have changed with a little hat from Mbappé passing over the crossbar. The seed seemed to have been planted, but it had not finished germinating. Gonzalez He came off the bench to try to help that. There would be no way.

A nightmare that ends

The end would be the worst possible nightmare for Madrid. More absorbed in the fight with the referee than in the battle to create chances, Carreras was sent off in stoppage time – as well as the surprise. Endrick, who was on the bench – while Rodrygo And Valverde They were reprimanded.

The next thing that dropped, like a stone, was 0-2. Work, once again, by Swedberg. The culmination of a night of terror at the Bernabéu which once again fuels the fire surrounding Xabi and the Merengue dressing room.

Real Madrid 0-2 Celta

Real Madrid : Courtois Raúl Asencio, Militao (Rüdiger, m.21), Carreras, Fran García; Tchouaméni, Fede Valverde, Arda Güler (Gonzalo, deceased 74), Bellingham; Vinicius and Mbappé.

Celtic: Radu; Mingueza (Javi Rueda, m.71), Javi Rodríguez, Starfelt, Marcos Alonso, Carreira; Miguel Román (Fran Beltrán, m.84), Moriba, Pablo Durán (Williot, m.46), Bryan Zaragoza (Ferrán Jutglà, m.71); and Borja Iglesias (Iago Aspas, died in 87).

Goals: 0-1, m.54: Williot. 0-2, m.93: Williot.

Arbitrator: Alejandro Quintero González (Andalusian Committee). He warned Jude Bellingham (m.62), Valverde (m.92) and Rodrygo (m.92) and sent off Fran García for a double yellow (m.63 and m.64) and Álvaro Carreras (both m.91) for Real Madrid. At Celta de Vigo, he showed a yellow card to Ilaix Moriba (m.83).

Incidents: Match of the 15th day of LaLiga EA Sports played at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in front of 74,511 spectators. Before the start of the match, a minute of silence was observed in memory of former player and coach Xabier Azkargorta and journalist Alfonso Ussía.