The European champions ran out 5-1 winners, with penalties from Luka Modric and Rodrygo sending them into the break with a 2-0 lead. Marco Asensio and Vinicius Junior put Real Madrid four goals up on the hour mark before Valverde took center stage. Vinicius’ goal in the 61st minute was assisted by the former Penarol midfielder.
Valverde swept home a stunning effort from outside the box in the 71st minute to complete the scoring for Los Blancos, before Celtic grabbed a late consolation goal. The Uruguay international is quickly developing a reputation as being one of the finest and most versatile players in world football.
Valverde played a crucial role in Real Madrid’s Champions League victory last season, setting up Vinicius’ winner in the final against Liverpool. He has already contributed a huge amount this season, scoring eight goals and providing four assists in 16 appearances across all competitions.
Following another outstanding performance, supporters have already touted him as a future Ballon d’Or winner. Supporters jumped on Twitter to shower the forward with praise for his Man of the Match display:
Carlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid ‘did well’ against Celtic in the Champions League
Los Blancos were aiming to secure top spot in Group F following their first defeat of the season against RB Leipzig last time out. Ancelotti named a strong starting lineup for the clash against the Scottish champions as they displayed their ruthless side.
The Galacticos were clinical in their approach following their mini-blip as the Glaswegian giants simply had no answer. Following the game, Ancelotti was full of praise for his team, as the Italian boss told BT Sport (as quoted by BBC Sport):
However, Celtic goalkeeper Joe Hart believes the penalties given to Real Madrid were ‘soft’, as he also told BT Sport:
Real Madrid will move into the Round of 16 as the group winners while Celtic finish in the last spot.
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