Real Madrid suffered a costly 2–0 defeat at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday in La Liga, ending the match with nine men after Fran García and Álvaro Carreras were both sent off.
Celta’s Williot Swedberg delivered a superb second-half performance, scoring twice to hand Madrid their second league loss of the season and push rivals Barcelona four points clear at the top of the table.
It was a night to forget for Xabi Alonso’s side, who also lost defender Éder Militão to injury. The defeat came in Madrid’s first home match after six consecutive games on the road across all competitions—a stretch disrupted by the Bernabéu hosting an NFL fixture.
The team’s struggles continue, having won just one of their last five league outings.
“This was tremendous. We read the game very well—we had some luck, but we did well,” Celta forward Borja Iglesias told Movistar.
“With the team they have, it’s hard to match their quality, but we kept the ball, played in their half, and produced a great performance.”
With a crucial Champions League showdown against Manchester City and Erling Haaland looming on Wednesday, Alonso opted to rest Antonio Rüdiger, giving Carreras a rare start in central defence. But Rüdiger was forced into action midway through the first half when Militão pulled up injured.
Raul Asencio started at right-back as Trent Alexander-Arnold continues to recover from a thigh injury that will rule him out for two months, adding to his difficult start since joining from Liverpool.
Despite Real Madrid’s possession, Celta goalkeeper Ionut Radu repeatedly denied the hosts. He saved a powerful Jude Bellingham header and pushed away an Arda Güler long-range strike. Madrid found it difficult to break through Celta’s compact low block, which limited the influence of Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior.
Güler missed Madrid’s best chance of the first half when he fired wide after being set up by Mbappé. Radu later stopped Vinícius following a clever Aurelien Tchouameni pass that split the defence—a rare moment of promise for the hosts.
Early in the second half, Radu again came to Celta’s rescue, parrying a fierce long-range effort from Fede Valverde before Celta delivered the shock that silenced the Bernabéu.
