Real Madrid’s return to the Santiago Bernabeu was a successful one as the Spanish giants beat Celta Vigo 5-2.
Celta were looking to ruin Real Madrid’s homecoming and, early on, they looked like they were going to do just that.
Santi Mina opened the score for the visitors just four minutes in following an error from the Madrid defense in trying to play out the back. A bit of miscontrol by left-back Miguel Gutierrez gave the ball back to Celta as Nacho and Casemiro scrambled to clear the ball.
Unable to do so, the ball slipped to Mina who shot the ball through the legs of Éder Militão, past Thibaut Courtois.
Karim Benzema once again comes to the rescue for Real Madrid
Twenty minutes later, Karim Benzema equalized off a cutback by Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan found himself at the end of a cross and laid it back for the Frenchman whose shot hit the ground before bouncing up past the goalkeeper.
But Celta were not giving up as in the 31st minute, Franco Cervi put them on top again. Real Madrid were done on the counter and fell into some bad luck as Cervi tried to backheel it but hit the post. It ricocheted off the post right back to Cervi who did not miss this time around.
Down a goal at the break, Madrid came roaring back in the second half.
Not one minute in, Rodriguez sent in a cross in to Benzema who beat Jeison Murillo and floated a header to the back of the net.
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The Frenchman proved he’s not just about scoring as he gave the assist in the 55th minute to Vinicius Jr. to give Madrid the lead. The Brazilian beat Nestor Araujo for pace to score his fourth goal of the season. He’s atop the leaderboard in goals scored this season.
To put a bow in the game, Carlo Ancelotti brought on Eduardo Camavinga for his Real Madrid debut. The 18-year-old midfielder scored the fourth after Luka Modric took the ball all the way inside the penalty box. His shot was saved but left bouncing for Camavinga who tapped in his first goal for his new club.
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The fifth and final goal came towards the end of the game after Denis Suarez fouled Vinicius Jr. inside the box for a penalty. Benzema took charge of the penalty and converted for his third goal of the game.
Th win meant Madrid kept pace with Atletico Madrid and Valencia who both won their respective matches earlier in the day. All three sides are tied for first with ten points a piece.
However, there remains concerns with this Madrid side. While they can score with the best of them, the defense still leaves much to be desired. They are still too vulnerable on the counterattack and teams with better defenses than Celta are going to be able to hold on to a lead.
Madrid play again midweek as they make their Champions League debut by traveling to Italy to take on Inter Milan.