Celta closed out 2025 at Abanca Balaídos with a highly commendable victory against Athletic Club, a team triumph that broke their losing streak and reinforced their positive momentum. In a demanding week, Claudio Giráldez opted for squad rotation, and the Sky Blues responded with a very solid performance against a Champions League opponent that barely altered its starting eleven. Without any grand gestures, Celta competed on equal terms, showing resilience and striking when the opportunity arose.
From the outset, Athletic looked to dictate the game, pressing high and exploiting weaknesses down the flanks. Meanwhile, Celta calmly accepted the script, defended their area well, and reached halftime without conceding any clear chances. In fact, the best opportunity of the first half fell to an unstoppable Williot Swedberg, who nearly scored after finding himself one-on-one with Unai Simón following a fine individual run inside the box.
The break changed everything. With Jones El Abdellaoui’s introduction adding depth to the attack, Swedberg moved to the left, a move that quickly paid off. After a perfectly weighted cross from Javi Rueda, the Swede appeared at the far post to head home the first goal of the afternoon, confirming his excellent form after his brace at the Bernabéu. From that moment on, Celta Vigo pressed forward and nearly added a second in a counter-attack that Jones couldn’t quite finish, but the Norwegian made amends shortly after, outmaneuvering Vivian and scoring his first LaLiga goal with a low, driven shot across goal that capped off another great assist from Javi Rueda.
With the score at 2-0, the game seemed under control until the penalty awarded by VAR in the Celta box. Nico Williams stepped up to take it, but he was thwarted by an imperious Radu, who guessed correctly and kept his team in the game in front of a packed Abanca Balaídos stadium where his name was being chanted.
From then on, Celta settled into their game, conceding little more than crosses, and closed out the year at home with a crucial victory that reinforces the positive momentum of a team that continues to improve.
Now, Abanca Balaídos will have to wait until 2026 to host Claudio Giráldez’s side again, as they will finish the year at the Carlos Tartiere stadium next Saturday, December 20th, at 2:00 PM against Real Oviedo. But before that, Celta will have another Copa del Rey fixture against Albacete Balompié at the Carlos Belmonte stadium this Wednesday at 7:00 PM.
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
2 – Celta: Andrei Radu; Manu Fernández, Carl Starfelt, Marcos Alonso; Javi Rueda (Sergio Carreira, min. 61), Hugo Sotelo (Ilaix Moriba, min. 61), Miguel Román, Óscar Mingueza; Iago Aspas (Hugo Álvarez, min. 79), Williot (Borja Iglesias, min. 75) and Ferran Jutglá (Jones El-Abdellaoui, min. 46).
0 – Athletic Club: Unai Simón; Areso, Vivian, Paredes, Yuri (Adama Boiro, min. 51); Ruiz De Galarreta, Jauregizar; Berenguer (Ibón Sánchez, min. 46), Sancet (Iñaki Williams, min. 46), Nico Williams (Nico Serrrano, min. 75); and Guruzeta (Izeta, min. 79).
Goals: 1-0 Williot Swedberg, min. 48. 2-0 Jones El-Abdellaoui, min. 55
Referee: Hernández Hernández (Canary Islands Committee). For Celta Vigo, he booked Ferran Jutglá (45th minute) and Iago Aspas (77th minute). For Athletic Bilbao, Iñaki Williams (66th minute) and Vivian (87th minute) were booked.
Attendance: 20,505 at Abanca Balaídos for the LaLiga EA Sports Matchday 16 fixture.
