Real Madrid qualifies with 13 points and in first place in Group F of the Champions League
The Real Madrid, who was already qualified for the round of 16 of the Champions League, also secured the top spot in Group F by defeating Celtic Glasgow 5-1 on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.
The penalty goals from Luka Modric (6) and Rodrygo (22), and the goals from Marco Asensio (51), Vinicius (61), and Fede Valverde (70), gave a victory that guaranteed first place in the group against German RB Leipzig (2nd), who defeated Shakhtar Donetsk 4-0 in the other match of the last round of the group.
The last two consecutive stumbles of Real Madrid against Shakhtar (1-1) and Leipzig (3-2 defeat) had allowed the Germans, second in the group, to aspire to snatch the leadership from the Madrid team in the last round.
"The game has been good from the beginning, the interpretation of the game has been good. We wanted to have good sensations again and we have accomplished it," said the Madrid coach, Carlo Ancelotti, after the match.
Real Madrid was surprised by the intensity and high pressure from Celtic at the start, which saw their momentum cut short by a handball by Moritz Jens in the penalty area, penalized with a penalty, which Luka Modric (6) converted.
In the 18th minute, Vinicius shot in the mouth of the goal a ball that was rejected by goalkeeper Joe Hart, but in the subsequent play, there was a handball in the area by Matt O'Riley penalized with another penalty.
Rodrygo took charge of converting the penalty to put the score at 2-0 (21), before Vinicius sent a shot practically into the clouds (22).
As has happened in previous matches, the advantage on the scoreboard led the players to relax, allowing more opportunities for Celtic, which forced Thibaut Courtois to shine with two shots from Kyogo Furuhashi (26) and Reo Hatate (29).
The best chance for Celtic came just before half-time when Ferland Mendy brought down Liel Abada in the penalty area causing a new penalty.
Thibaut Courtois thwarted Josip Jusanovic's shot (35) to the despair of the Scottish team, which after the break tried to take another step forward.
"With 2-0 we got our penalty and with 2-1 maybe the result wouldn't have changed, but it would have given us a little more confidence," said Celtic coach Ange Postecoglou.
- Honor goal -
Despite the disadvantage and the danger posed by Real Madrid with open spaces, Celtic did not retreat and continued trying to reach the white goal taking advantage of their speed.
"We are not happy with the score, but we are also proud of how we played," said Celtic defender Carl Starfelt to BT Sport.
A new Madrid goal came when Asensio finished off a pass from Dani Carvajal (51), stopping Celtic again and giving more tranquility to Real Madrid, which began to manage the game with ball possession.
Just ten minutes later, Vinicius struck from close range after a cross from the right by Fede Valverde to make it 4-0 (61).
The Uruguayan would make it 5-0 with a shot from outside the box off a pass from Asensio (70).
With the advantage on the scoreboard and the objective accomplished, Carlo Ancelotti began to distribute minutes with substitutions.
The Italian coach brought in Karim Benzema for Vinicius (64) to give minutes to the Madrid captain, once he had overcome the muscle fatigue that had led him to miss his team's last three matches.
With nothing to lose, Celtic continued trying to reach Courtois' area until Jota scored with a free kick from outside the box, sealing the final 5-1 (84). AFP