Spanish La Liga
Real MadridReal Madrid2Celta VigoCelta Vigo1

Real Madrid 2-1 Celta Vigo

By Michael EmonsBBC Sport
Alvaro Morata
Alvaro Morata (right) began his career at Real Madrid and rejoined them in a £23m move from Juventus in June

Alvaro Morata scored his first goal since returning to Real Madrid as he helped his team beat a stubborn Celta Vigo side and go top of La Liga.

Morata, who rejoined Real in June after a two-year spell at Juventus, finished after Celta Vigo goalkeeper Sergio had parried Marco Asensio's attempted chip.

The visitors quickly equalised through Fabian Orellana's powerful finish.

But Real, who hit the woodwork three times in the match, won it late on with Toni Kroos' composed finish.

The victory maintains Real's winning start to the season after they defeated Sevilla 3-2 in the Uefa Super Cup and Real Sociedad 3-0 in their La Liga opener last weekend.

Barcelona will move above Real Madrid on Sunday if they beat Athletic Bilbao.

Dominant Real take the points after scare

Real dominated the game at the Bernabeu but were given a fright by a Celta Vigo side who finished sixth in La Liga last season.

Luka Modric hit the bar from 25 yards, before Gareth Bale's long-range free-kick also hit the woodwork as a Real side, without the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, looked to make their dominance count.

Morata, who helped Real win La Liga in 2012 and the Champions League in 2014 during his first spell at the Bernabeu, put the hosts ahead before hitting the post moments later.

Real were ahead for six minutes before Orellana equalised in a rare Celta attack, but Kroos scored only his fourth La Liga goal in his third season at Real to win it.

Gareth Bale
Gareth Bale scored twice in Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Real Sociedad in their opening La Liga match of the season

Will Rodriguez stay at Real?

Despite Ronaldo and Benzema missing through injury, there was still no place in Real's starting line-up for Colombian James Rodriguez.

Rodriguez, who joined Real in 2014 in a transfer that could be worth up to £71m, has failed to start a game this season and was only introduced after 69 minutes with the score at 1-1.

On Friday, Real coach Zinedine Zidane admitted Rodriguez's lack of playing time "could prove a problem" and admitted "some players" could leave the Bernabeu during the transfer window.

Zidane's quotes came after Spanish sports newspaper AS reported that Rodriguez would seek a move from the club if he did not start against Celta.

The transfer window closes on 31 August, with Real next in action on 10 September when they entertain Osasuna.

James Rodriguez
James Rodriguez only started 17 La Liga games in 2015-16 and has been a substitute for both league games in 2016-17

Line-ups

Real Madrid

Formation 4-3-3

  • 13Casilla
  • 2Carvajal
  • 5Varane
  • 4Ramos
  • 12Marcelo
  • 19ModricSubstituted forRodríguezat 69'minutes
  • 14Casemiro
  • 8Kroos
  • 11Bale
  • 21MorataSubstituted forMarianoat 77'minutes
  • 20AsensioSubstituted forVázquezat 65'minutes

Substitutes

  • 3Pepe
  • 10Rodríguez
  • 16Kovacic
  • 17Vázquez
  • 18Mariano
  • 23Danilo
  • 31Yáñez

Celta Vigo

Formation 4-2-3-1

  • 1Álvarez
  • 2MalloBooked at 52mins
  • 22Cabral
  • 24Roncaglia
  • 19Castro OttoBooked at 55mins
  • 6RadojaSubstituted forSistoat 85'minutes
  • 8Hernández
  • 14Orellana
  • 18WassSubstituted forDiop Gueyeat 77'minutes
  • 7Bongonda Mbul'Ofeko Batombo
  • 9GuidettiSubstituted forIago Aspasat 73'minutes

Substitutes

  • 10Iago Aspas
  • 11Sisto
  • 20Gómez
  • 21Planas Antolínez
  • 23Señé Escudero
  • 26Villar
  • 28Diop Gueye
Referee:
Ricardo de Burgos Bengoetxea
Attendance:
61,568

Match Stats

Home TeamReal MadridAway TeamCelta Vigo
Possession
Home54%
Away46%
Shots
Home24
Away8
Shots on Target
Home10
Away3
Corners
Home7
Away2
Fouls
Home8
Away11

Live Text

  1. Post update

    Match ends, Real Madrid 2, Celta de Vigo 1.

  2. Full Time

    Second Half ends, Real Madrid 2, Celta de Vigo 1.

  3. Post update

    Attempt missed. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) left footed shot from outside the box is just a bit too high. Assisted by Mariano.

  4. Post update

    Attempt saved. James Rodríguez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from a difficult angle on the left is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Gareth Bale.

  5. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Facundo Roncaglia.

  6. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Mariano.

  7. Post update

    Corner, Celta de Vigo. Conceded by Raphael Varane.

  8. Post update

    Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  9. Post update

    Foul by Pablo Hernández (Celta de Vigo).

  10. Substitution

    Substitution, Celta de Vigo. Pione Sisto replaces Nemanja Radoja.

  11. Post update

    Attempt missed. Theo Bongonda (Celta de Vigo) header from the centre of the box is too high following a corner.

  12. Post update

    Corner, Celta de Vigo. Conceded by Marcelo.

  13. Goal!

    Goal! Real Madrid 2, Celta de Vigo 1. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.

  14. Post update

    Marcelo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.

  15. Post update

    Foul by Orellana (Celta de Vigo).

  16. Post update

    Attempt saved. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid) header from the centre of the box is saved in the centre of the goal. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez with a cross.

  17. Post update

    Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Facundo Roncaglia.

  18. Post update

    Marcelo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick on the left wing.

  19. Post update

    Foul by Orellana (Celta de Vigo).

  20. Post update

    Attempt blocked. Mariano (Real Madrid) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Lucas Vázquez.

Scores, Results & Fixtures

Saturday 27th August 2016

As It Stood

TeamPWDLFAGDPts
1Real Madrid22005146
2Dep La Coruña21102114
3Leganés21101014
4Barcelona11006243
5Sevilla11006423
6Las Palmas11004223
7Sporting Gijón11002113
8Eibar21012203
9Real Sociedad210123-13
10Malaga20203302
11Atl Madrid20201102
12Granada10101101
13Villarreal10101101
14Alavés10101101
15Espanyol201168-21
16Osasuna201113-21
17Real Betis201126-41
18Ath Bilbao100112-10
19Celta Vigo200213-20
20Valencia200225-30
View full Spanish La Liga table