Match ends, Celta de Vigo 1, Real Madrid 4.
Celta VigoCelta Vigo1Real MadridReal Madrid4
Cristiano Ronaldo broke Jimmy Greaves' 46-year European scoring record as Real Madrid moved within a point of their first Spanish title since 2012.
Ronaldo, 31, fired Madrid ahead with his 367th goal in one of Europe's top-five leagues, eclipsing the mark set by former England striker Greaves in 1971.
Ronaldo slotted in a second and, after John Guidetti gave 10-man Celta hope, Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos sealed it.
Real will clinch La Liga with a draw at mid-table Malaga on Sunday.
Rivals Barcelona must win their final game at home to Eibar and hope Zinedine Zidane's side lose.
If the teams finish level on points then defending champions Barca will claim a third-straight title because of their superior head-to-head record.
"The most difficult part is still to come even though we're getting closer to the title every day," Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane said.
Record-breaking Ronaldo leads Madrid to victory
Ever since Madrid lost 3-2 in a dramatic El Clasico at the Nou Camp in April, this game has been seen as pivotal in the Spanish title race.
Up until Wednesday's match, Barca had finished every game week top of La Liga following El Clasico, but knew Zinedine Zidane's side would overhaul them with a positive result at mid-table Celta.
And it was unsurprising that Ronaldo was instrumental. His goals for both Manchester United and Madrid saw him pass ex-Chelsea, Tottenham, AC Milan and West Ham striker Greaves.
| Selected leading European goalscorers (league goals) | |
|---|---|
| 366 | Jimmy Greaves (Chelsea, AC Milan, Tottenham, West Ham) |
| 365 | Gerd Muller (Bayern Munich) |
| 346 | Lionel Messi (Barcelona) |
| 317 | Steve Bloomer (Derby, Middlesbrough) |
| 310 | Dixie Dean (Tranmere, Everton, Notts County) |
Even though the scoreline suggested a comfortable away win, the visitors were pushed by a home side who created chances without taking them.
Celta were punished by Ronaldo's clinical finishing and when Iago Aspas was sent off for two bookings - the second, rather harshly, for diving - their chances looked over.
Guidetti's fluky strike looped off Raphael Varane and over keeper Keylor Navas to give them hope, although that was dashed seconds later when Benzema converted Marcelo's cross.
And, after Ronaldo missed a sitter for his hat-trick, Kroos made sure with a composed low finish.
Any hope for Barca?
Madrid have won six-straight games since their Nou Camp defeat, therefore keeping the title race in their own hands.
Barcelona have matched them every week with victories of their own, but Real's relentless form means the Catalan club are now relying on Malaga to do them a favour on Sunday.
However, there is one result that gives Barca hope of their title rivals slipping up... their own defeat at Malaga on 8 April.
Neymar was sent off as a 2-0 defeat hampered Luis Enrique's hopes of leaving the Nou Camp with another league title on his CV.
'I don't feel like we're champions yet' - reaction
Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane
We have one game left but today was very important. We know what we need to do. We need to prepare well and recover from today as we gave so much.
The first half was end to end and that doesn't suit us, we were much better with the ball in the second and we played a little better.
I don't feel like we're the champions yet, we still need to pick up more points and keep on with what we're doing.
Line-ups
Celta Vigo
Formation 4-2-3-1
- 1Álvarez
- 2MalloBooked at 73mins
- 24Roncaglia
- 22Cabral
- 19Castro OttoBooked at 64mins
- 18Wass
- 8HernándezBooked at 85mins
- 10Iago AspasBooked at 62mins
- 16SánchezSubstituted forDíazat 72'minutes
- 11SistoSubstituted forDiop Gueyeat 80'minutes
- 9GuidettiBooked at 66minsSubstituted forBeauvueat 86'minutes
Substitutes
- 3Fontàs
- 4Diop Gueye
- 5Díaz
- 12Beauvue
- 17Hjulsager
- 20Gómez
- 27Villar
Real Madrid
Formation 4-3-3
- 1Navas
- 23Danilo
- 5Varane
- 4RamosBooked at 85mins
- 12Marcelo
- 19Modric
- 14CasemiroBooked at 30minsSubstituted forKovacicat 71'minutes
- 8Kroos
- 22IscoSubstituted forVázquezat 84'minutes
- 9Benzema
- 7Cristiano RonaldoSubstituted forAsensioat 84'minutes
Substitutes
- 6Nacho
- 13Casilla
- 15da Silva Coentrão
- 16Kovacic
- 17Vázquez
- 20Asensio
- 21Morata
- Referee:
- Juan Martínez Munuera
- Attendance:
- 18,740
Match Stats
Home TeamCelta VigoAway TeamReal Madrid
- Possession
- Home52%
- Away48%
- Shots
- Home17
- Away13
- Shots on Target
- Home6
- Away8
- Corners
- Home4
- Away6
- Fouls
- Home17
- Away9
Live Text
Post update
Full Time
Second Half ends, Celta de Vigo 1, Real Madrid 4.
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Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Jonny.
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Foul by Pape Cheikh (Celta de Vigo).
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Mateo Kovacic (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Claudio Beauvue (Celta de Vigo).
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Danilo (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Attempt blocked. Gustavo Cabral (Celta de Vigo) header from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Daniel Wass with a cross.
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Corner, Celta de Vigo. Conceded by Sergio Ramos.
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Attempt blocked. Hugo Mallo (Celta de Vigo) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Pablo Hernández.
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Jonny (Celta de Vigo) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
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Foul by Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid).
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Corner, Real Madrid. Conceded by Pape Cheikh.
Goal!
Goal! Celta de Vigo 1, Real Madrid 4. Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) right footed shot from the centre of the box to the bottom left corner. Assisted by Karim Benzema.
Post update
Foul by Facundo Roncaglia (Celta de Vigo).
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Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
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Attempt saved. Lucas Vázquez (Real Madrid) left footed shot from the right side of the six yard box is saved in the centre of the goal.
Substitution
Substitution, Celta de Vigo. Claudio Beauvue replaces John Guidetti.
Booking
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) is shown the yellow card.
Booking
Pablo Hernández (Celta de Vigo) is shown the yellow card.
Comments
Join the conversation
What a ignorunt little urchin you are !
JG's record stood for 46 years - i doubt anything you've done in your life will be remembered for more than 46 seconds (your wife agrees).
No go and lose another game of scrabble to your goldfish . . . . . . .
.
If they win the CL he'll almost certainly win the Ballon D'or again and will be evens with Messi, which I think is fair given his astonishing record. A true great of the game, no matter whether you like him or not.
Meanwhile, the other day we had an article about Wayne Rooney and we nobody appreciates him. It's very simple: when it matters, he flops.
The last man to win La Liga with RM...the Man everybody loves to hate!
Speaking of which, are people going to finally start admitting that Ronaldo has had a better season than Messi?
Even Scholes and Beardsley are behind R & M. Rooney is just not up there and never has been.
Madrid's 3-2 defeat to Barca in April, was in the Bernabeu, not the Nou Camp
It's nice to know that actually England and the UK has had some of the best players to ever grace the game.
As Jimmy Greaves said himself about the Liverpool hard man defender Tommy Smith,
“As we went out on the pitch, he handed me a piece of paper. It was the evening menu for the Liverpool Royal Infirmary.”
Jimmy Greaves WAS injured in 66 that's why he was dropped. In the last grouo game against France Brunnel raked his shin with his studs leaving a gash that needed 14 stitches afterwards.