Three takeaways from Real Madrid’s 1-3 win against Celta in La Liga

Real Madrid completed a very solid performance against Celta Vigo in their La Liga opener and earned a 1-3 win which allows Zidane’s men to open a three-point lead to Barcelona in the table. Here are three takeaways from the game.

1. A positive game from almost each and every player. Gareth Bale was ready to play even after a summer when he was constantly in and out of the club. Marcelo showed that he’s back after a very bad 2018-2019 season and Courtois made two crucial saves when the game was still 0-1. The rest of the squad was very convincing, apart from...
2. Vinicius and Odriozola struggle. The Brazilian wonder kid didn’t make mistakes but he needs to play with more confidence and willingness to showcase his skills, especially now that it seems that he is going to replace Hazard in the lineup until the Belgian star recovers from his injury. On the other hand, Odriozola did make mistakes and his game was more worrying than Vinicius’. The Spanish right-back is trying and his effort cannot be put into question, but he is just a liability defensively. He will turn 24 years old this winter and it’s time for him to play with focus, given that Carvajal tends to miss games every season because of injuries.
3. There’s still room for improvement. Madrid’s win is convincing in every way and the team will be better once Hazard is back. However, Los Blancos will need better control of the tempo and possession of the game throughout the season if they want to compete for La Liga title.