Victory and first place for Real Madrid: Reigning European champions Madrid beat Celtic Glasgow 5-1 at the Bernabéu on Wednesday night and finish top of Group F, securing a more favorable draw for the Round of 16 .
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The Merengues quickly took the lead thanks to two penalties converted by Luka Modric (6th) and Rodrygo (20th) for two consecutive hands from Moritz Jenz and Matthew O'Riley, then Marco Asensio (51st) and Vinicius (61st) dug the gap after returning from the locker room, before Fede Valverde sealed the success with a strike from the entrance to the area, as usual, in the 71st.
Celtic for honor
After suffering their first defeat of the season last week in Leipzig (3-2), and after conceding a 1-1 draw against modest Girona on Saturday in La Liga, Carlo Ancelotti's men made up for it on Wednesday, offering their biggest victory of the season to their public.
This match notably served the goleador Karim Benzema to slowly pick up the pace.
The 2022 Ballon d'Or, hampered by pain in his left thigh for the past two weeks, started on the bench, and came on in place of Vinicius in the 62nd minute, just over two weeks from the start of the World.
Celtic, already guaranteed to finish last in Group F and eliminated from all European competitions, however saved the honor at the end of the match: in the 84th minute, the Portuguese Jota transformed a sublime free kick at the corner of the surface of repair.
Another first for Frappart
Fortunately, because half an hour into the game (33rd), after a tackle from Ferland Mendy on Liel Abada in the area, Josip Juranovic had missed his penalty against Thibaut Courtois, who had intervened with authority.
Celtic thus ended their continental campaign without any success (two draws and four losses).
Note that this was the first match in the history of Real Madrid refereed by a woman, the French Stéphanie Frappart.