Celta found their way to victory and did so in emphatic fashion. Goals from Hugo González, Ilaix Moriba and Miguel Román, along with Pablo Durán’s brace, sealed a convincing 5-0 win over Racing de Santander to open the Sky Blues’ winning account for the season.
The celebrations began before the ball even got rolling. From 12:00, the Xuntanza brought music, food and plenty of Celta spirit to the surroundings of Abanca Balaídos. The celebrations then moved inside the stadium, where the team put the perfect finishing touch on the day with a goal fest.
The match began evenly, with Racing enjoying more possession in the opening minutes and Celta showing patience as they looked for spaces. The turning point came after the half-hour mark, when the VAR awarded a penalty for a handball in the box and Hugo González converted from the spot. The goal released Celta, who soon found the net again through a superb individual effort from Ilaix Moriba to make it 2-0 before half-time.
After the break, Celta maintained the pace and continued to push for more. Miguel Román extended the lead in the 69th minute and, with Racing now at the mercy of the Sky Blues, Pablo Durán took over the scoring duties. The forward, who had come on at half-time, scored twice in the final stages to complete the five-goal haul, first from a Borja Iglesias assist and then by finishing off a quick counter-attack after a pass from Hugo Álvarez.
Five goals later, Balaídos finally got to celebrate what it had been waiting for. The drought was over, the first win of the season had arrived, and the Celta faithful went home with a victory befitting a day that began with a celebration and ended even better. Now comes the international break, giving the team time to enjoy this boost and recharge before returning to action on 11 October against Elche at the Martínez Valero, looking for what will surely be another memorable afternoon.
TECHNICAL DETAILS:
5; Celta: Radu; Álvaro Núñez, Yoel Lago, Cáceres; Rueda (Carreira, 46’), Miguel Román (Burcio, 84’), Moriba, Hugo Álvarez; Hugo González (Pablo Durán, 46’), Williot (Javi Galán, 43’) and Jutglá (Borja Iglesias, 64’).
0; Racing: Agirrezabala; Mantilla (Aaron Martin, 63’), Pablo Ramón, Belocian, Salinas; Pablo García (Villalibre, 63’), Iván Martín (Íñigo Sainz-Maza, 84’), Íñigo Vicente, Almeida (Canales, 63’), Iker Luque; and Zabiri (Guliashvili, 75’).
Goals: 1-0, 32’: Hugo González (pen). 2-0, 43’: Moriba. 3-0, 68’: Miguel Román. 4-0, 78’: Pablo Durán. 5-0, 93’: Pablo Durán.
Referee: De Burgos Bengoetxea (Basque committee). Booked Javi Rueda (45’), Yoel Lago (73’) for Celta, and Zabiri (57’), Pablo Ramón (75’), Belocian (64’) and Canales (90’) for Racing de Santander.
Incidents: LaLiga EA Sports Matchday 7 fixture played at Abanca Balaídos in front of 19,505 spectators.
