RC Celta bowed out of the Copa del Rey in the last 16, but they did so with their heads held high, fighting until the final whistle in front of a Santiago Bernabeu stunned by the sky blue performance. Despite going down 5-2 in extra time, Claudio Giráldez’s side showed exceptional courage and determination to put Real Madrid to the sword, who, although they managed to reach the quarter-finals, never had the game in the bag.
The game started with the fast pace and unpredictability of a cup tie, until in the 37th minute, Real Madrid took the lead thanks to a goal from Mbappé. The Merengue 9 took advantage of a counter-attack to beat Iván Villar with a precise shot. However, the goal was shrouded in controversy, as the action came after a possible penalty on Williot that the referee did not signal. But it didn’t matter, the scoreboard already reflected the home side’s advantage.
After the break, Madrid seemed to be in control of the game and Vinicius extended the lead a few minutes later, in the 48th minute, after a brilliant team move between Mbappé, Brahim and Vinicius himself, who made no mistake against Iván Villar. With the score at 2-0 and the Whites dominating, Celta were forced to row against the tide. But the Copa has its own laws, and when the sentence seemed to have been carried out, Bamba appeared to give the Galicians a lifeline. In the 83rd minute, shortly after entering the field of play, the Celta 17-goaler pulled one back and rekindled hope. Just seven minutes later, in the 90th minute, a penalty on Bamba allowed Marcos Alonso to score the equaliser. A goal that took the game into extra time and revived the hopes of the sky blue fans.
In extra time, Real Madrid found answers, and although Celta held on for the first 15 minutes, in the second period of extra time, Endrick scored to make it 3-2. And just a few minutes later, Valverde put the game to bed with a long-range shot to make it 4-2. With Celta already down, the 18-year-old Merengue striker popped up again in the 120th minute, this time with a back-heel into the six-yard box to further secure their place in the quarter-finals (5-2).
The final whistle sealed Real Madrid’s qualification, but also made it clear that Celta sold their elimination at a high price.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
5 – Real Madrid: Lunin; Lucas Vázquez, Asencio, Rüdiger, Fran García (Bellingham, min.90+2); Tchouameni, Modric (Valverde, min.79), Ceballos (Güler, min.70); Brahim (Camavinga, min.70), Mbappé (Endrick, min.79) and Vinícius (Rodrygo, min.105).
2- RC Celta: Iván Villar; Mingueza, Javi Rodríguez (Manquillo, min.95), Starfelt, Marcos Alonso, Carreira (Cervi, min.75); Beltrán (Sotelo, min.56), Moriba; Hugo Alvarez (Bamba, min.67), Swedberg (Durán, min.56) and Borja Iglesias (Fer López, min.75).
Goals: 1-0: min. 37, Mbappé. 2-0: min. 48, Vinicius. 2-1: min. 83, Bamba. 2-2: min. 91, Marcos Alonso, de penalti. 3-2: min. 108, Endrick. 4-2: min. 112, Valverde. 5-2: min. 119, Endrick.
Referee: Munuera Montero (Andalusian Committee). Yellow cards for Asencio, Iván Villar, Starfelt, Endrick and Claudio Giráldez.
Incidents: Copa del Rey last 16 match at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium.
