Real Madrid won at Celta Vigo on Friday to keep their La Liga title hopes very much alive, with the gap to Barcelona now at one point. It had looked like being dropped points for the third La Liga match running, but deep into stoppage time, Fede Valverde’s deflected effort ended up in the back of the net, much to the delight of everyone associated with Los Blancos.
Upon scoring the winning goal at Balaidos, Valverde ran to the Real Madrid bench and celebrated with fitness coach Antonio Pintus, who was re-appointed to a prominent role in January following the exit of Xabi Alonso as manager, and the subsequent decision to install Alvaro Arbeloa as his replacement.
After the match, Pintus revealed on Instagram (via Marca) why Valverde had chosen to celebrate with him after scoring against Celta.
“Fede Valverde came to hug me after the goal due to the death of my mother. Fede, you are a noble man and a great player.”
Pintus is a popular figure within Real Madrid
There was much made of Alonso’s decision to demote Pintus when he took over as Real Madrid manager last summer, but it was no surprise to see him re-appointed to a key first team role when Arbeloa came in. Florentino Perez is a big fan, despite the fact that fingers have been pointed in his direction in the past when there has been injury crises.
What’s certain is that Real Madrid are much more united under Arbeloa than they were during Alonso’s tenure. The players are backing Pintus in spite of these aforementioned claims, and they can take confidence from the late victory over Celta into next week’s mouth-watering showdown with Manchester City in the first leg of their Champions League Round of 16 tie, which takes place at the Bernabeu.
