Under the fine baton of Gabri Veiga, the goals from Iago Aspas and Carles Pérez in the second half and the solidity that he missed so much during Coudet’s stage, Celta dispatched Rayo (3-0) this Saturday to continue moving away from relegation, and, incidentally, lengthen the losing streak of the Madrid team, which has gone five games without winning in LaLiga Santander.
For Celta it was an important game. None of the teams in the lower zone -Cádiz, Getafe, Espanyol and Valladolid- had won, and that gave him the option of catch air in case of subduing the Lightning, who exhibited in Baláidos his soul as an uncomfortable, solid and dangerous team in transitions until he was beaten by Aspas.
Except in the first five minutes, in which the ingenuity of Gabri Veiga was able to unbalance the score, Rayo was an impenetrable team in the first act for Celta, nullified by the tactical rigor of their rival. Carlos Carvalhal’s team lacked football in the creation zone. He was barely able to damage the Rayista defensive system, which was significantly influenced by the fact that Iago Aspas did not come into play.
The Spanish international has been suffering from intense discomfort in his lower back for weeks and that is affecting his football. In spite of everything, it continues to be destabilizing within the area. He missed the first one he had, just after the start of the match and after a great assist from Veiga, but he did not forgive at the start of the second half, just after Raúl de Tomás crashed his shot off the post.
There was the Galician victory, since the possible 0-1 went to 2-0 in just two minutes. All the good work of the Iraola boys collapsed in two quick celestial transitions. Aspas, after a ride by Javi Glán down the left flank, opened the scoring; and Carles Pérez closed it out a minute later with a goal that Pulido Santana conceded after being reviewed by VAR.
The match leaned towards the light blue side in those crazy minutes, since the first half was even. The omnipresent Gabri Veiga and Carles Pérez encountered a wall called Dimitrievski; Lejeune threatened Iván Villar with a powerful shot from distance and Isi Palazón, on the stroke of halftime, Balaídos silenced with a header that went over the crossbar.
With the 0-0 it came to rest. Rayo started the second part better, and was able to take the lead. First with a header from Catena and then with a shot at the post by Raúl de Tomás, after a childish mistake by Unai Núñez when the ball was released. And he paid dearly for it, then immediately He was beaten by Aspas, who showed his quality in a difficult shot after a cross from Galán.
Rayo fell apart for a few minutes, and Carles Pérez finished it off after picking up a rebound from Dimitrievski, who had taken the powerful shot from Seferovic. Iraola moved the bench, but his team no longer reacted. Celta closed their victory with another goal from Aspas, who continues to claim a place in the national team.