Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior both scored to lead Real Madrid to a 2-1 victory over Celta Vigo on Saturday, moving them level on points with La Liga leaders Barcelona.
French forward Mbappe, despite reports of an investigation into an alleged incident in Sweden, started and put the Spanish champions ahead. The 25-year-old, who recently came under fire for missing France’s Nations League matches, dismissed the Swedish media reports as “fake news.”
Williot Swedberg equalised for Celta Vigo, but Vinicius struck the decisive goal in the 66th minute to secure Real Madrid’s unbeaten streak in La Liga, now at 42 matches. Madrid now looks ahead to hosting Barcelona next weekend in El Clasico.
Carlo Ancelotti expressed satisfaction with the win, especially after the international break. With captain Dani Carvajal sidelined, Ancelotti opted for Lucas Vazquez at right-back and deployed a three-centre-back formation, deviating from his usual defensive setup.
Swedberg missed an early chance for Celta, with Thibaut Courtois tipping his effort wide. Despite Real Madrid’s new defensive setup, Celta found space to attack, while Madrid looked dangerous but struggled to create clear chances.
Mbappe broke the deadlock with a powerful long-range strike after a mistake by Fran Beltran. It was his first goal from outside the box for Madrid and his sixth in La Liga this season.
Celta, however, responded through Swedberg, who calmly finished Oscar Mingueza’s low cross in the 51st minute. Vinicius thought he had scored minutes later, but the goal was ruled out for offside.
Ancelotti then brought on Luka Modric, who became Real Madrid’s oldest player in La Liga, surpassing Ferenc Puskas. The Croatian, aged 39, made an immediate impact, setting up Vinicius with a precise pass for the winning goal.
Courtois was called upon again to deny Jonathan Bamba, and Celta’s Anastasios Douvikas missed a late opportunity to level the score, firing wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.
Earlier in the day, Athletic Bilbao moved into provisional fourth place after a convincing 4-1 win against Espanyol.