La Liga: Mbappe, Vinicius on target to give Real Madrid 2-1 win at Celta Vigo

Real is second in the La Liga standings on 24 points, level with leader Barcelona, which has a game in hand and hosts Sevilla on Sunday.

Real Madrid’s Kylian Mbappe, right, celebrates with Vinicius Junior after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Celta and Real Madrid at the Balaidos, stadium in Vigo, Spain, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. | Photo Credit: AP

Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Jr scored in each half to give Real Madrid a hard-fought 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in La Liga on Saturday.

Mbappe gave Real the lead with a brilliant strike from long-range in the 20th minute. However, Swedish forward Williot Swedberg equalised for the home side with a first-touch effort from a counter-attack in the 51st minute.

Real went ahead again when substitute Luka Modric played Vinicius through, and the Brazilian took the ball past the goalkeeper before finishing in the 66th minute.

Real is second in the La Liga standings on 24 points, level with leader Barcelona, which has a game in hand and hosts Sevilla on Sunday.

Real was aggressive from the start but left itself exposed to counter-attacks, with Swedberg missing two clear chances from close range within the first 15 minutes.

Celta misplaced a pass that was intercepted by Mbappe, who picked up the ball outside the box and fired an unstoppable strike into the top corner to give the visiting side the lead.

Vinicius was a constant menace up and down the left side but was wasteful, as Real could have easily reached halftime further ahead.

However, in a quick counter-attack six minutes into the second half Oscar Mingueza boosted up the right wing and crossed to Swedberg, who beat the offside trap to tap in a first-touch effort to the left of Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

As Celta tried for a winner, it was Carlo Ancelotti’s men who snatched victory through a terrific pass by 39-year-old Modric, who saw Vinicius ghosting between two defenders and delivered a pass that the Brazilian finished to seal the three points.