Real Madrid 2-0 Celta Vigo: 5 talking points as Los Blancos dispatch high-flying Galicians | La Liga 2020-21

#3 Stellar Marco Asensio gets rewards for fine displays in recent weeks

Marco Asensio scored his first goal of the season for Real Madrid

Marco Asensio blossomed as a prodigiously talented teenager for Real Madrid, and his world-class goal against Barcelona in the 2017 Spanish Super Cup earmarked him as one to watch in the future.

However, injuries and a loss of form hampered his progress, with a ruptured ACL suffered in a pre-season fixture against Arsenal in 2019 ruling him out for almost a year.

The extended lockdown afforded him a chance to return to action. Despite marking his return with a goal and assist against Valencia, however, Asensio looked a shadow of himself in the last few months.

Despite this, Zinedine Zidane stuck with him, and the Spain international has slowly gotten back to full fitness and form for Real Madrid in recent weeks.

He provided his first assist of the season in the 2-0 victory over Granada, while it was his stinging effort off the crossbar that was headed into an empty net by Luka Modric in the 1-1 draw with Elche.

🤩💬 @marcoasensio10: ''Hey Madridistas! Happy New Year! I’m very happy with the three points for the team, my goal and my assist. We’ve put in a good performance tonight and I hope you’ve enjoyed a good night of football. All the best! ''#RMLiga | #HalaMadrid pic.twitter.com/neD6qjZj4k

— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) January 2, 2021

Asensio was once again handed a start against Celta Vigo and rewarded his manager's faith by providing an excellent left-wing cross for Vazquez to open the scoring.

Seven minutes into the second half, the former Espanyol man showed great composure to put Real Madrid 2-0 up with what was his first goal of the season.

The technique shown in controlling and finishing the goal was reminiscent of Marco Asensio at his best.

#2 Poor Celta Vigo fail to trouble Real Madrid

Thibaut Courtois was a passenger for most of the game

Celta Vigo's poor start to the season saw them win just one of their opening nine games, leading to the termination of Oscar Garcia's contract.

The Spaniard was replaced by Argentine Eduardo Coudet. He brought about an instant revolution, allowing the Galicians to come into their clash with Real Madrid as one of the form teams in the league.

A 4-2 defeat to Sevilla in Coudet's first game in charge was the only reversal suffered by Celta, with six wins from their next seven games propelling them up the table.

In Iago Aspas, Los Celestes had arguably the most in-form player in the league, and they would have fancied their chances of getting something against the defending champions.

🤟 OS NOSOS 💙#RealMadridCelta #LaLiga pic.twitter.com/4nVNwN9Q73

— RC Celta (@RCCelta) January 2, 2021

Their bright start to the game seemed to lay credence to this but it proved to be a false dawn, as Real Madrid scored immediately after that.

The hosts seemed content to sit back and protect their lead rather than add to it. Their job was made much easier by Celta Vigo's lack of ambition to impose themselves on the game.

Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was virtually a spectator in the game and did not have to make a save until the dying moments, which was rather disappointing from Celta's perspective.

#1 Impressive Nacho holds it down for Real Madrid in the absence of Sergio Ramos

Nacho effectively replaced Sergio Ramos in the latter's absence

Sergio Ramos is unarguably one of the greatest defenders in the history of Real Madrid, and his presence on the field cannot be underemphasised.

It is for this reason that fans of the club might have expressed worry when their captain and talisman was excluded from the starting lineup owing to a stomach upset.

They need not have bothered though, as Nacho Fernandez proved himself to be an excellent cover for the 33-year-old.

Long seen as an excellent utility player, the Spain international proved his mettle alongside Raphael Varane and needed just five minutes to make his first telling contribution to the game.

The 30-year-old showed great anticipation to stop Aspas' lobbed, goal-bound shot, which would have changed the dynamics of the game had it gone in.

There was also another last-ditch tackle at the death, reminiscent of Sergio Ramos' tackle on Pedro Bigas last month. It even drew applause from the Real Madrid captain in the stands.

In what was a superb defensive performance, Nacho almost put no foot wrong and ended the game with three tackles, four clearances and two interceptions.