Real Madrid destroy Celtic with best attacking performance of the season

Real Madrid 5-1 Celtic

Real Madrid might be the only Spanish side in the knockout stages of the Champions League, but they looked imperious as they secured first place in their final group game against Celtic.

It took just five minutes for Los Blancos to open the scoring, as a Moritz Jenz hand was punished by a Luka Modric penalty. The Rodrygo Goes converted from the spot for another handball.

Josip Juranovic could not convert his penalty though, putting it too close to Thibaut Courtois. Celtic’s dedication to pressing high and playing dynamic football was admirable, but also responsible for most of their issues. Los Blancos continually played out of pressure and got to the Celtic box with ease. While the Bhoys did create some chances of their own, Kyogo Furuhashi could not beat Courtois.

Seven minutes into the second half, Marco Asensio arrived at pace onto a Dani Carvajal cutback and finished brilliantly. Fede Valverde then provided Vinicius Junior for a fourth, before curling a lovely shot into the corner himself.

Save a late Jota free-kick that beat Courtois, almost everything went right for Real Madrid, who made Celtic pay for the gulf in class. Pleasing for Carlo Ancelotti will have been the performance of Asensio on his second start and the return of Karim Benzema, who came on for the final 25 minutes without any problems.

Tags Celtic Champions League Real Madrid
La Liga - Club News