Madrid, April 23 (BNA) Marco Asensio and Eder Militao scored to give Real Madrid a 2-0 win over Celta at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday and cut Barcelona’s lead at the top of La Liga to eight points.
With eight matches left in the season, second-placed Real kept their slim title hopes alive by moving to 65 points. Reuters reports that Barcelona are playing a game in hand and host third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
In-form Atletico are unbeaten in their last 13 LaLiga matches and have six straight wins, 13 points behind Barcelona and five ahead of Real. Celta ranks 12th in the standings with 36 points.
It was a lukewarm start to the match with Real Madrid, and he was in no hurry to put pressure on the guests. However, they have gradually become more aggressive, with Vinicius Junior and Asensio running the channels.
Real were leading midway through the first half and were playing the ball around Celta’s penalty area but missed the final assist.
It took 42 minutes for his first shot on goal and Asensio made the most of it, opening the scoring with a one-touch strike from the middle of the penalty area after Vinicius had run down the left and volleyed in a low cross for Spain. international.
Defender Militao wrapped up the win just after half-time, firing himself into an Asensio corner to score with an unstoppable header from close range.
Real took his foot off the pedal afterward, relieved to see the match with their lead intact.
With the Champions League semi-final first leg away to Manchester City just three days after they face Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final in May, Real Madrid are counting on a win from their city rivals on Sunday to spice up the past few weeks in LaLiga.
“We will fight until the last game, until it becomes mathematically impossible,” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Dazn.
“It’s a pity we dropped some points coming our way… but with the Champions League, that can happen.
“Now we want to win the next three matches and when the cup final arrives, we will see how far we are. We want to win to have a good feeling before the Champions League. It is important that we are all in good shape. Let’s hope we finish the season well.”
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