Swedberg scores twice to give Celta a stunning 2–0 win
Real Madrid finish with nine men after two red cards
Celta claim their first Bernabéu win in 19 years
Willot Swedberg's brilliant second half double consigned nine-man Real Madrid to a shock 2-0 loss to Celta Vigo at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Xabi Alonso would have hoped his side could build on their impressive midweek victory over Athletic Bilbao to keep pace with league leaders Barcelona, but the hosts' struggles in front of a low block came to the fore once again.
Madrid were dealt an early blow as Eder Militao was forced off with a hamstring injury in the 24th minute, leaving them with a makeshift defence to see out the contest.
Arda Guler came closest in the first half, dragging a left-footed shot just wide of the post after a strong combination between Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in the 38th minute.
Celta continued to pose a strong threat on the break, though, as Javi Rodriguez and Pablo Duran combined to force Thibaut Courtois into action, while Ionut Radu was forced into a number of diving saves at the other end to deny a slew of well-struck efforts from Guler, Vinicius and Jude Bellingham.
The Galicians struck early after the break as some pedestrian defending opened the door for a splendid, improvised finish from Swedberg, who coolly flicked Byran Zaragoza's cross into the far corner with the outside of his boot.
Madrid's implosion began shortly thereafter as Fran Garcia was shown two yellow cards within the span of two minutes just past the hour mark for careless fouls on Swedberg and Sergio Carreira.
Matters worsened for Alonso's side in stoppage time as Alvaro Carreras was sent off in similar fashion for dissent.
And Swedberg sealed the points with the final kick of the game in spectacular fashion, latching onto Iago Aspas' throughball before rounding Courtois and walking the ball into the net.
The defeat leaves Madrid four points behind Barcelona, while Celta climb to 10th place, level with Elche on 19 points.
Data Debrief: Swedberg haunts Madrid once more
Despite building up plenty of momentum with a confident win over Athletic in midweek, Los Blancos turned out a seriously under-par performance, despite registering an expected goals (xG) total of 2.29 from their 23 attempts to Celta's 1.54 from their seven shots.
The defeat was their first against Celta in 22 meetings (since May 2014) and their first at home to the Galicians in 19 years.
Indeed, Celta had Swedberg's heroics to thank for their victory. The Swedish international became the first foreign player to score in three or more consecutive LaLiga matches against Madrid since Luis Suarez in October 2018 (also three).
