MADRID — Marco Asensio and Eder Militao scored as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday to close the gap on LaLiga leaders Barcelona to eight points.
Karim Benzema, Asensio and Dani Ceballos all shot off target before Asensio gave Madrid the lead in the 42nd minute, turning Vinicius Junior‘s cross into the back of the net.
Militao made it 2-0 just after halftime with a towering header from Asensio’s corner to secure the win and maintain a degree of pressure on Barca, who host third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Rapid reaction
1. Real Madrid win means LaLiga title race isn’t over yet
Madrid’s realistic title aspirations may have been greatly reduced when they were beaten by Barcelona on March 19, and they seemed to disappear completely when they lost to Villarreal on April 8. But with Barca dropping points in their last two games and facing in-form Atletico this weekend, wins like this mean Madrid can at least stay within reach of the likely champions.
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What’s more, maintaining league form is Madrid’s way of ensuring that they go into their next two priority fixtures — the Copa del Rey final with Osasuna on May 6, and the Champions League semifinal first leg with Manchester City three days later — in the best possible shape. As coach Carlo Ancelotti said ahead of this match: “The team is in good form and every game can confirm that. The objective is to fight until the end in the league and maintain our form.”
This wasn’t a vintage performance. The first half was stodgy, only livened up by Asensio’s late opener, and Militao’s header moments after the interval effectively ended it as a contest. But it serves to keep confidence high and the good vibes going, until the games that really matter come around.
2. Asensio a valuable supporting player
Marco Asensio hasn’t turned out to be the generational talent he looked like he’d become when he emerged at Real Mallorca, or when he joined Real Madrid back in 2015. But in the last two seasons, he’s become a kind of 12th man for this team, and a low-key important contributor in attack.
His goal here made it seven league goals in 2022-23, after scoring 10 in 2021-22. This season, only Benzema and Vinicius have more in the Madrid squad. If Benzema, Vinicius and Rodrygo are now clearly Carlo Ancelotti’s preferred front three, then Asensio, 27, makes for a handy back-up to step in — and deliver — in games like this.
