Real Madrid suffered a major setback in their La Liga title chase on Sunday, falling 2-0 to Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabéu in a match marred by two red cards.
Teenage substitute Williot Swedberg emerged as the hero for Celta, striking twice in the second half as Xabi Alonso’s men delivered a shock blow to the champions, who are now four points behind leaders Barcelona.
Madrid looked unusually flat from the outset. Celta’s Pablo Durán threatened early after racing onto a Bryan Zaragoza pass, only to be denied by Fran García.
At the other end, Jude Bellingham twice came close, forcing goalkeeper Ionut Radu into a sharp save before seeing another effort blocked, while Arda Güler and Vinícius Júnior were also frustrated.
The visitors eventually broke through in the 53rd minute. Zaragoza whipped in a dangerous low cross, and Swedberg cleverly back-heeled the ball beyond Thibaut Courtois to silence the home crowd.
Real’s night quickly worsened when García was sent off after collecting two yellow cards in quick succession for clumsy challenges on Carreira and Swedberg.
The frustration boiled over again late on as Álvaro Carreras also saw red for dissent.
Despite chances for Bellingham, Vinícius and Aurélien Tchouaméni, Madrid failed to find a response. Deep into added time, Swedberg sealed Celta’s stunning win, rounding Courtois and tapping into an empty net.
Madrid must now regroup quickly with a huge Champions League clash against Manchester City looming on Wednesday.
