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Alex KirklandESPN FC
Real Madrid fly to a comfortable win end Celta Vigo4-1, in the second week of the LaLiga season and the club’s first game since Casemiro Departure to Manchester United. Karim Benzema scored the first goal for Madrid and Iago Aspas equalized, but then Madrid bounced back and made it impossible for Celta Vigo to come back.
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Luka Modric, Vinicius Junior and Federico Valverde It’s all enshrined in what will be an emphatic statement of intent from Real Madrid to bring the rest of LaLiga into the spotlight. ESPN’s Alex Kirkland responded from Abanca-Balaídos in Spain.
CLICK: Player Rating | Best/worst performer | Outstanding and remarkable moments | Quotes after the game | Key stats | Upcoming furniture
Rapid response
No Casemiro, no problem
Real Madrid’s midfield has always been closely monitored in the first game of the post-Casemiro era, after the midfielder £70m move to Manchester United confirmed the day before.
Here at Balaidos, it was Aurelien Tchouameni – signed at a larger expense earlier this summer – who has reassured Madrid fans that there is life behind their legendary midfield trio. Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric.
Kroos isn’t here, absent due to the flu, but Modric – somehow still getting better at 36 – is majestic alongside Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. He put Madrid ahead with a trademark cut before half-time and then delivered a vision pass for Vinicius Junior to make it 3-1 after the break.
There’s a lot to like about Tchouameni’s performance. The young French midfielder seemed increasingly confident and authoritative as the game went on.
That third goal came from Tchouameni’s tackle in the Real Madrid box, before Modric and Vinicius did the rest – and it was his midfield run that made Madrid’s fourth goal, by Fede Valverde.
There are big challenges ahead, and like any young player, Tchouameni will have his good days and bad days, but this is a very encouraging start.
Midfielder’s dilemma for Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti has made it clear that last year’s preferred centre-back pairing, David Alaba and Eder Militaostarting this season as first choice despite the arrival of Antonio Rudiger on a free transfer from Chelsea.
Militao made another big mistake here – handling the ball for Celta to equalize in the first half – while Rudiger came on from the bench to command attention with another physical display.
Rudiger’s LaLiga debut at Almeria last weekend was hardly perfect, but you wonder how long Ancelotti can continue to ignore a player with the skills, experience and prolific physicality.
An aggressive run up the field, before exchanging passes with Karim Benzemaresulting in Madrid being awarded a second penalty of the night, which was missed by substitute Eden Hazard.
Madrid’s squad this year is packed with talent, and Rudiger has shown unexpected versatility, filling both full-backs, but he will want to play more before it’s too long, with Militao most likely to be disqualified.
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Aspas becomes the main man for Celta again
If Madrid risk relying too much on Benzema to score the goals they need to challenge for titles again, Celta’s prospects this season rest entirely on his shoulders. Iago Aspas.
The 35-year-old local and club legend scored 18 goals in the league last year – only Benzema scored more – and after leaving in the summer to become an attacking-minded striker , as creative as Brais Mendez and NolitoAspas will have more responsibility in delivering and finishing this time.
New sign Goncalo Paciencia did well here as a target man, while lending Carles Perez Launched from the bench, but when you look at the Celta squad, it’s only Aspas who is capable of hitting double the number.
He still has the ability to shine – a run in the middle of the first half saw him overtake Modric and break forward before running out of breath – and Celta has talented players in those areas. elsewhere on the field like Javi Galan and Fran Beltranbut they are also unequal and disturbingly inconsistent.
Success or failure for Celta this year will come down to – as it did for much of the last decade – how far Aspas can take them.
Player Rating
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois, 6. Dani Carvajal, 6. David Alaba, 7. Eder Militao, 5. Ferland Mendy, 6. Aurelien Tchouameni, 8. Eduardo Camavinga, 7. Luka Modric, 8. Fede Valverde, 7. Vinicius Junior, 8. Karim Benzema, 7 years old.
Register: Antonio Rudiger, 7. Dani Ceballos, 6. Lucas Vazquez, 6. Eden Hazard, 5. Marco Asensio, 6.
Celta Vigo: Agustin Marchesin, 7. Hugo Mallo, 7. Joseph Aidoo, 6. Unai Nunez, 6. Javi Galan, 7. Renato Tapia, 5. Fran Beltran, 7. Oscar Rodriguez, 6. Franco Cervi, 7. Iago Aspas, 7. Goncalo Paciencia, 6 years old.
Register: Carles Perez, 6. Gabriel Veiga, 6. Luca de la Torre, 6.
Best and worst performers
BEST: Luka Modric, Real Madrid.
Outstanding. Having helped the younger midfielders by his side, scored the goal of the game and produced the crucial third goal for Vinicius, which put Madrid out of sight.
WORKING: Eder Militao, Real Madrid.
His performance – and especially his concentration – needs to improve, or else Rudiger won’t be on the team for long.
Outstanding and remarkable moments
Karim Benzema, last season’s La Liga player of the year, scored the opening goal for the 2022-23 campaign.
Benzema scores his first LaLiga goal of the season 🔥 pic.twitter.com/cxC0XXlfNg
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Celta Vigo pulled back a goal after Iago Aspas’ penalty, but then Luka Modric joined in the action.
Modric scored one of his special goals from outside the box, then received applause from Celta Vigo fans when he was sent off later in the game.
While Celta Vigo kept a tight grip in the first half and the two teams entered halftime with Madrid 2-1 up, the second half was a very different story.
When Madrid made it 3-1 thanks to a beautiful finish from Vinicius Junior, it was pretty much over.
After the game: What the manager, the players say
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti: “We were happy. We played well. We had good individual performances from players who haven’t played much, they were new. Tchouameni played really well, and Camavinga. We showed. a lot of energy on the pitch and the performance has been good, we definitely believe in the future.”
Ancelotti: “We have players who can play in many different positions, which helps the whole team. I think the squad we have is a really good team, I have no doubt about that. “
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni: “Of course we have to think about a transition… The veterans understand that very well, because the young players last season also showed that they deserve a spot. So it’s important. is to have good management of the dressing room, the understanding of the veterans and the patience of the youth.”
Tchouameni about Modric: “He’s immortal. Luka is always ready, he’s always prepared, he’s always good. The goal he scored changed the game. The second half, they dropped the intensity, and we were. We played well from the back and our transitions were spectacular.”
Key stats (powered by ESPN Stats & Info)
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Karin Benzema scored his 19th goal in La Liga. Only six active players have scored more penalties than the Frenchman in La Liga: Raúl García, Negredo, Parejo, Iago Aspas, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
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Since the start of last season, no team has taken more penalties than Real Madrid (13, draw Levante) in La Liga.
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Iago Aspas scored his 136th LaLiga goal, the fourth most among active players. He is also the 10th man on the list of all-time penalties in La Liga with 31. Next on the list is David Villa with 32.
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Luka Modric scored his 12th goal of his LaLiga career from outside the box. Of Modric’s 23 La Liga goals, 12 have come from outside the box. Since Luka Modric joined Real Madrid in 2012-13, the only players to have scored more goals from outside the box in La Liga are Lionel Messi (67), Antoine Griezmann (25), Cristiano Ronaldo (24). ), Dani Parejo (18) and Iago Aspas (16).
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Federico Valverde scored his first goal for the club since he won in the 98th minute against Barcelona in the SuperCup semi-final on January 12.
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Aurelien Tchouameni has had 13 recoveries. Casemiro, who led the LaLiga team in terms of recoveries last season with 230, had only 1 game with more than 13 recoveries with Real Madrid in LaLiga last season (14 with Getafe in January 2022).
Next
Real Madrid: LaLiga title holders play at Espanyol on August 28 (watch LIVE on ESPN+) in front of the opener at his newly refurbished home ground against Real Betis on 3 September.
Celta Vigo: They aim for Girona on Friday, August 26 (watch LIVE on ESPN+) and then they hosted Cádiz a week later.
