Real Madrid secure comfortable victory over Celta Vigo

Winning the LaLiga Santander title will be virtually impossible for Real Madrid this season, and it was almost as if they played without that pressure in a comfortable 2-0 win over Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Just days after booking their place in the Champions League semi-final, Los Merengues were back at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu looking to make some form of a dent in Barcelona‘s lead at the top of the table.

It was a rotated starting XI from the Italian coach as Dani Ceballos, Marco Asensio and Nacho Fernandez all came into the team.

Eduardo Camavinga was also given a rare start at left-back, not that it impacted his performance negatively..

Real Madrid controlled possession for much of the game, although their first-half dominance didn’t translate to too many clear-cut chances.

The deadlock, though, was broken three minutes before half-time by Asensio himself.

Vinicius Jr laid on a perfect pass for the Spanish international, which found him free inside the penalty area and he coolly finished the move with a side-footed shot into the bottom right corner.

Real Madrid will treat LaLiga games as Champions League warm-ups

Even the most ardent Real Madrid fan would say there is a very slim chance of the team retaining their domestic crown this year.

As such, domestic games such as these will work as warm-up matches for the two-legged tie against Manchester City.

Three minutes after the half-time break, Marco Asensio was then involved once more as he provided a beautiful cross into the penalty area from a corner.

Eder Militao jumped the highest and was able to power his header down into the left side of the net.

Thibaut Courtois was called into action late on as Iago Aspas made a chance for himself inside the penalty area, but the Belgian stopper was on hand to produce an excellent stop.

The victory leaves Los Blancos eight points adrift of Los Cules, although their rivals do have a game in hand.