Federico Valverde’s deflected effort in extra time earned Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday, ending a run of back-to-back defeats and cutting Barcelona’s lead to one point.
Aurelien Tchouameni’s strike put the visiting side ahead in the 11th minute, but Borja Iglesias leveled in the 25th after Williot Swedberg broke down the left flank and delivered a low cross.
With the match seemingly drifting towards a draw, captain Valverde let fly from well outside the penalty area and saw his thunderous effort take a decisive deflection, wrong-footing the goalkeeper as the ball kissed the net, keeping Madrid firmly in the title hunt.
Madrid, who were beaten by Osasuna and Getafe in their previous two matches, moved to 63 points, one behind Barcelona. The Catalans face Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
«There is still a long way to go in La Liga, there are still many points up for grabs. Every match will be a battle. «Our performance today was very commendable,» Madrid manager Alvaro Arbeloa told a news conference.
«Hopefully it will be a victory that we will remember when we win La Liga. It will lead us on the path that we want to follow in every match. This is Real Madrid: believe and fight. See also: qwer4. Hopefully it will be a turning point.»
Celta started at a fierce pace and almost caught the exhausted visitors cold.
Thibaut Courtois produced a fine one-handed save in the fifth minute to deny Iglesias’ drive from the edge of the box as the hosts targeted a Madrid side missing nine players, including the injured Kylian Mbappe, Rodrygo, Eder Militao and Jude Bellingham.
Madrid responded quickly. Vinicius Jr. hit the left post on a counter-attack before Tchouameni broke the deadlock two minutes later.
After working a short corner, Arda Guler squared in front of Tchouameni in the middle, whose first-time effort crept in just inside the left post.
Celta leveled in the 25th minute when Williot Swedberg fired past Trent Alexander-Arnold on the left and delivered a low cross for Iglesias to convert from close range.
Swedberg almost became a scorer himself before half-time, but Courtois reacted sharply and denied him from the penalty area.
Vinicius remained Madrid’s main outlet after the break, but clear chances were few and far between. Substitute Iago Aspas came closest for Celta, hitting the post in the 88th minute.
Just as a draw loomed – a result that could have been costly in the title race – Valverde stepped up to ensure Madrid remained firmly in the title race.
Published on March 7, 2026
