RC Celta closed their pre-season with a narrow defeat against West Ham in London. Claudio Giráldez’s men lost on penalties (6-5) after drawing 2-2 in normal time. Despite the result, the Celestes showed character and competitiveness against one of the giants of the Premier League, leaving a good feeling for the official start of the season.
The match started with an early goal by Bowen for West Ham, but RC Celta did not take long to react and, a few minutes later, Mihailo Ristic equalised after taking advantage of a rebound. Even so, before the break, the English took the lead again thanks to a goal by Paquetá.
In the second half, Pablo Durán brought the game back on level terms with a goal from a very good play by his teammates, also home-grown, Damián and Hugo Álvarez. With the score at 2-2, the match was settled in a penalty shoot-out, where Julen Lopetegui’s side won 6-5.
The match was also notable for the debut of Ilaix Moriba and the presence on the pitch, for the third consecutive week, of Joseph Aidoo, who on this occasion wore the captain’s armband.
With this match, RC Celta closes the pre-season and counts the days until the start of LaLiga EA SPORTS 24/25. The debut
in this new season will be at home next August 16th against Deportivo Alavés. See you at Abanca Balaídos, fans!
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS:
2 (6) – West Ham: Areola; Coufal, Kilman, Mavropanos, Emerson, Soucek, Guido Rodríguez, Paquetá, Kudus, Bowen and Antonio. Also played: Fabianski, Aguerd, Ward-Prowse, Füllkrug, Summerville, Earthy and Luis Guilherme.
2 (5) – RC Celta: Iván Villar; Manquillo, Starfelt, Jailson; Mingueza, Beltrán, Damián Rodríguez, Ristic; Aspas, Bamba and Borja Iglesias. Also played: Williot Swedberg, Carlos Domínguez, Pablo Durán, Hugo Álvarez, Javi Rodríguez, Moriba, Alfon, Aidoo, Sergio Carreira, Marc Vidal and Hugo Sotelo.
Goals: 1-0 Bowen (min.6); 1-1 Ristic (min.21); 2-1 Paquetá (min.35); 2-2 Pablo Durán (min.66).
Referee: Darren Bond. Yellow card for RC Celta’s Fran Beltrán (min.50).
Incidents: Last friendly match of the pre-season 24/25 of RC Celta, played at the Olympic Stadium in London.
