Ange's Celtic 'still miles off' after Madrid thumping

2 years ago 87

Real Madrid converted 2 punishment kicks and saw goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois prevention different — each successful the archetypal fractional — arsenic it comfortably defeated Celtic 5-1 to unafraid archetypal spot successful its Champions League group.

The effect near Carlo Ancelotti arsenic the manager with astir Champions League victories with 103, 1 much than Alex Ferguson. The Italian already was the manager with astir titles successful the European competition, with four.

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Luka Modric converted a punishment successful the sixth infinitesimal and Rodrygo different successful the 21st, past Thibaut stopped 1 taken by Josip Juranovic successful the 35th to permission Madrid successful power astatine the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium.

Marco Asensio, with a changeable from adjacent the punishment spot aft a walk by Dani Carvajal, added to the pb successful the 51st. Vinícius Júnior past netted the 4th aft a transverse by Federico Valverde successful the 61st, and Valverde himself closed the scoring for the hosts with a changeable from extracurricular the country successful the 71st.

“We were focused from the start,” Ancelotti said. “We controlled the lucifer and ne'er slowed our pace. We were effectual and scored galore goals. It was each perfect.”

Jota enactment Celtic connected the committee with a well-struck escaped footwear that curled implicit the Madrid partition successful the 84th.

Both Madrid penalties came aft handballs wrong the area, portion Celtic's came aft a foul by Madrid defender Ferland Mendy.

With his extremity from the spot, the 37-year-old Modric became the oldest subordinate to person a punishment successful the Champions League, surpassing Lille's Burak Yilmaz's people arsenic a 36-year-old from earlier this year. It was Modric's ninth extremity successful 111 Champions League appearances.

“We took vantage of our chances and scored the goals that we had to score,” Valverde said. “It was a bully effort by the full team. We had been doing good but sometimes things don’t spell your mode and everything becomes negative.”

Madrid was coming disconnected a 3-2 nonaccomplishment astatine Leipzig successful the erstwhile circular — its archetypal decision of the play successful each competitions — and needed the location triumph against last-place Celtic to get the radical triumph and a theoretically easier hostile successful the adjacent stage. The group-winners volition beryllium drawn against the second-place finishers successful the circular of 16.

“Finishing archetypal gives you a tiny advantage,” Ancelotti said. “It’s not a lot, but it allows you to play the instrumentality lucifer astatine home, and that is helpful.”

Madrid finished Group F with 13 points, 1 much than Leipzig, which won 4-0 astatine Shakhtar Donetsk successful the different radical lucifer connected Thursday (AEDT). Shakhtar ended 3rd with six points, securing a spot successful the Europa League playoffs.

Celtic earned its 2 points from 1-1 draws against Shakhtar. Madrid's different setback successful summation to the nonaccomplishment astatine Leipzig besides was a gully astatine Shakhtar.

“We volition present bespeak connected this run but the shot is there,” Celtic defender Carl Starfelt said. "Maybe we request to beryllium much ruthless successful some boxes.”

The triumph connected Thursday ended a two-game winless streak for Madrid, which had been held by Girona astatine the Bernabéu successful the Spanish league astatine the weekend.

Ballon d'Or victor Karim Benzema, who had missed 3 consecutive games due to the fact that of musculus fatigue, came successful arsenic a substitute successful the 63rd.

Celtic has ne'er won successful 21 competitory European games successful Spain.

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