Kylian Mbappé scored two goals as Real Madrid fought off a late comeback attempt from Celta Vigo to secure a 3-2 win on Sunday and stay within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona, whom they visit in next weekend’s Clasico.
Defending champions Madrid’s fourth win in a row kept their title dream alive with four matches to go in the Spanish top flight, while Celta Vigo remained seventh after their third loss in four league games.
“The most important thing was the win. We played a good first half, but then we fell apart … They are a great team and they put us in trouble,” midfielder Federico Valverde told Real Madrid TV.
Madrid dominated the first hour of the game as Arda Güler broke the deadlock shortly after the half-hour mark, taking a short corner for a one-two with Lucas Vázquez before dispatching an excellent left-footed shot from a tight angle through a gap between defenders.
Mbappé doubled Madrid’s lead six minutes later as Jude Bellingham‘s lobbed ball unleashed the Frenchman, who ran down the opposition half and fired a right-footed shot from the edge of the box into the net.
Güler’s through ball set up Mbappé’s second goal three minutes into the second half, the 26-year-old finding the bottom-right corner to score his 24th league goal of the season. That is one less than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski, who leads the scoring charts.
But Celta Vigo, who lost only two of their previous 11 league games and nearly scored early on with two Marcos Alonso chances, were unwilling to give up.
The visitors began a fightback with their first goal 69 minutes in, Javi Rodríguez punishing the Madrid defence for failing to clear Sotelo’s attempt off a corner with a close-range finish.
Williot Swedberg scored Celta Vigo’s second goal seven minutes later as Iago Aspas found him in the box with a precise through ball.
Under pressure, Madrid did well to see out the final minutes as Courtois made crucial saves to deny Pablo Durán and Aspas to protect the hosts’ lead.
“Now, let’s get ready for next Sunday,” Courtois said, referring to the upcoming Barcelona game.