La Liga: Could Madrid ‘Crisis’ Become Real in Vigo?

Celta Vigo vs Real Madrid

It may be a fan, a pundit, or a panicky boardroom director, but so huge is the spotlight of the duo, that the scale can become disproportionate.

I am, of course, talking about Real Madrid and Manchester United.

As the former prepare to head to Celta Vigo in La Liga on Friday night, hot on the heels of successive league defeats, it begs the question, just what would happen if Los Blancos slipped up again?

Talking Points

Now let me be clear, I nailed my colours to the mast a little while ago because I thought the decision to sack Xabi Alonso and replace him with a rookie in the shape of Alvaro Arbeloa would prove a grave mistake.

It’s possibly too early to judge fairly but I stand by my remarks and they have gathered pace with recent league defeats to Osasuna and at home to Getafe (in between, they did progress in the Champions League at the expense of Benfica).

That has led to them falling four points off pacesetters Barcelona at the summit and, with a mounting injury list, the gap may well increase if they don’t start delivering consistent La Liga 2026 highlights.

Madrid certainly cannot afford another slip-up, even though they have mitigating circumstances with Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Eder Militao and Rodrygo among those out of action.

La Liga: Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe is currently nursing a knee injury — Kylian Mbappe sidelined from the Real Madrid squad

Mbappe’s situation has been described by the Athletic this week as particularly opaque. He’s been carrying a knee injury, described as a “sprain”, for the best part of three months but it hasn’t cleared up.

As for the unfortunate Rodrygo, he will be sidelined for up to a year with a torn cruciate ligament and meniscus in his right knee – also ending his hopes of playing in this summer’s World Cup.

Of course, Real still have plenty of top talent to call upon but they have been weakened and will be naturally wary of their hosts.

That Celta head into this contest in sixth place, following successive wins over Mallorca and Girona, outlines just what they are achieving.

It’s not too long since this SBOTOP scribe gave a shout-out to Claudio Giraldez whose work caught me completely by surprise.

A quick look at the club’s budget and squad led to many tipping the Galicians to struggle this year but Giraldez has them faring very well and in contention for a European berth.

Before being appointed as the man to save the club from relegation – which he duly did – the highest level of coaching he had previously experienced was in Spain’s third tier with Celta Fortuna, the club’s B team. Now he is considered amongst the best of the rest over the past couple of years.

Giraldez is also the youngest coach currently plying his trade in La Liga and his team was one of the youngest and most entertaining teams last term, scoring a league fifth-best 59 goals.

Bigger squads have sometimes struggled to juggle the combination of domestic duties with Europe (they are in the last 16 of the Europa League) but no doubt they will be determined to stay the course in the closing months of the season.

This Friday they could be boosted by the return of 14-goal Borja Iglesias, absent last time out through suspension. Marcos Alonso, Carl Starfelt and Pablo Duran all remain sidelined.

History

These two sides have locked horns on 138 occasions throughout history and Real Madrid comfortably lead the overall record with 82 successes to Celta’s 35, while there have also been 21 draws.

Real have netted 322 times against Celta, conceding 174, while Cristiano Ronaldo is the all-time leading goalscorer in this fixture, having scored 20 goals against the Sky Blues during his time with Los Blancos.

Unsurprisingly, the club from the capital have also dominated their La Liga meetings, winning 72 of their 119 matches.

Notably, three of Celta’s last four triumphs over Real Madrid have actually come at the Bernabeu, while they have only beaten Los Blancos once on home soil since May 2001.

They won the most recent meeting in early December when Os Celestes returned home 2-0 victors when Williot Swedberg kept his composure early in the second half, and again in stoppage time, to seal a shock 2-0 win.

That sealed Celta’s first win over Real in La Liga since May 2014, a run of 22 games without victory.

It was a contest in which Real lost their discipline with left-back Fran Garcia dismissed for two quick-fire yellow cards before Alvaro Fernandez Carreras saw a straight red for abusing the referee in stoppage time.

This corresponding match last term was edged by Madrid. Swedberg was again on target but goals from Mbappe and Vinicius won the day.