Real Madrid stole a crucial victory from the jaws of a draw at Balaidos. Aurelien Tchouameni was once again the standout for Los Blancos.
Thibaut Courtois – 8
Made two excellent saves in the first half to keep Real Madrid level. Nothing out of the ordinary for Courtois, but no less impressive.
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 4
If Trent Alexander-Arnold’s pay-off is his offensive production does not make it worthwhile as things stand. After one brilliant pass for Vinicius Junior early on, Alexander-Arnold hooked in several wayward crosses before being beaten by Williot Swedberg too easily for Celta’s equaliser. A more competent second half, but was again wasteful with the ball.
Raul Asencio – 8
Playing through the pain barrier, Asencio was very solid and made a number of sharp interventions to cut out Celta attacks. Even in the moments Real Madrid looked shaky, he remained firm in conviction and tackle.
Antonio Rudiger – 7
Struggled at points in the first half, it was Rudiger and Alexander-Arnold attacked in the first period, and he gave away a number of silly fouls. In the second half, he was much cleaner, and stepped in well on the Celta forwards.
Ferland Mendy – 7.5
A very good return to action for Mendy, who made one crucial covering run to keep Fer Lopez from having a golden opportunity in the second half. The Mendy of always: solid defensively, conservative with the ball.
Fede Valverde – 6.5
Slightly reluctant to give him too much credit for a winner that was heavily deflected, his third effort of the game from good positions and the first that was going on target. Valverde again looked a little lost without space to attack.
Arda Guler – 6
A good setup for Tchouameni for the opening goal, but struggled for the most part after that. Got into good positions on several occasions, but through a lack of options and impatience, found his through balls cut out on every occasion before being taken off after the hour.
Aurelien Tchouameni – 8.5
Given the slip by Borja Iglesias for the first Celta Vigo goal, outside of that, this was another very good performance from Tchouameni. The best of any Real Madrid player, he stepped in time and again to recycle possession, clogging up the midfield for Celta. On top of that, his brilliant goal turned out to be crucial.
Thiago Pitarch – 6.5
A little less impressed than Alvaro Arbeloa, Pitarch was again very busy without the ball, snapping into challenges and giving Los Blancos an energy they need in midfield. The flipside is that he continues to play backwards when he has it, and released the pressure on Celta on multiple occasions with careless fouls.
Brahim Diaz – 4
A very anonymous performance, Brahim couldn’t get on the ball, and on the rare occasion he did, his use of it was uninspiring.
Vinicius Junior – 5
It’s true that he had little service. That said, beyond his chance in the 10th minute, which he was unlucky not to see go in, but probably should have scored, Vinicius was very quiet. A couple of shots in the second half were comfortable for Ionut Radu, and other than that, he provided little threat.
Substitutes
Cesar Palacios – 7
An impressive cameo from the Castilla midfielder, who played behind the forwards when he came on. Nipped in to win the ball back on a couple of occasions, and moved the ball quickly when he got on it. Promising.
Gonzalo Garcia – 4
Sent on for the final 15 minutes, the only time we recall Garcia touching the ball was to go on a run direct for goal in stoppage time when he should have turned and played it to a free Vinicius on the left.
Manuel Angel – N/A
Came on in the 90th minute. Won the ball back high up the pitch, it was just clean, and ultimately a decisive contribution.
