Real Madrid suffered a shock 0-2 defeat to end with nine men against Celta Vigo in La Liga on Sunday after Williot Swedberg scored a daring goal with his back heel and a second in stoppage time to leave the hosts four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Swedish substitute Swedberg cleverly diverted Bryan Zaragoza’s cross past Thibaut Courtois in the 53rd minute to put Celta ahead and had an easy finish after three minutes of added time, going around the goalkeeper to clinch the points.
Madrid’s cause was not helped by the 64th-minute dismissal of Fran Garcia, who picked up two yellow cards in 60 seconds, but they laid siege to the visitors’ goal for the final 20 minutes as Celta found themselves in a defensive grenade to maintain their lead.
Madrid defender Alvaro Carreras was also dismissed for two warnings, his second goal coming in stoppage time late in the match as the home side’s frustrations boiled over.
It was the second clean sheet in 15 league games this season for Celta, thanks to goalkeeper Ionut Radu, who made a first-half save from Jude Bellingham’s header and kept out a second-half free-kick from Kylian Mbappé.
Madrid were left on 36 points from 16 games as Celta celebrated a first win at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu in 19 years, leaving the Galician club with 19 points.
“With the team they have and their quality it is difficult to match them, but we read the game well,” said Celta forward Borja Iglesias. “We had possession, we played in their half, we played a fantastic game.”
Celta jumped from 14th to 10th place as the defeat ended Madrid’s 100 percent home league record this season after six consecutive wins.
Xabi Alonso’s stuttering Madrid team have now won just one of their last five league games ahead of Manchester City’s midweek arrival in the Champions League.
Earlier on Sunday, Espanyol moved up to fifth place when Roberto Fernandez’s first-half penalty secured a 1-0 home win over Rayo Vallecano, with both sides finishing with 10 men.
Elche’s Rafa Mir scored twice as they beat struggling Girona 3-0, while hosts Valencia and Sevilla remained in the bottom half of the table after a 1-1 draw.
Published on December 8, 2025
