Glasgow hosted the 2022-23 opening game of the White Team’s UCL season. The reigning European champions set out in defense of their title in solid fashion with a convincing win at Celtic Park. The three points were all sewn up in a fantastic second half by our team, led by the majestic Toni Kroos, who was named Player of the Match. His passing and distribution were crucial in taking the sting out of Celtic's energetic press. Made no mistakes with the ball, and read every situation correctly. Vini Jr., Luka Modrić and Eden Hazard all found the back of the net to mark Real Madrid's sixth win on the bounce.
At first it was very tough game with Celtic starting pretty well playing quickly and pressing strongly and Madrid yet to find the best route to rise above the opponent. However, after quietly managing the first 30 minutes, Madridistas took the game’s steering wheel in their hands and started producing more and more, going near the goal in some cases, but unfortunately failing to break the deadlock before the first half’s whistle. Everything was then settled in the 2nd half as Los Blancos fully outperformed the hosts, optimized their stats and scored three times.
The first real chance of the night fell to Celtic following a swift counter-attack which saw Abada race through one-on-one against Courtois, but the goalkeeper came out on top with 13 minutes gone. Eight minutes later, McGregor saw his left-footed strike from the edge of the box crash back off the upright as the hosts enjoyed a positive spell, compounded when Hazard came on for Benzema, who was unable to continue beyond the half-hour mark due to a knee problem.
From then until the interval, it was all about our team though, as two chances to break the deadlock presented themselves in quick succession. With 41 minutes on the clock, Carvajal whipped the ball across the box and Hazard narrowly failed to turn it home from close range. A minute later, the Belgian threaded a gorgeous ball in behind to send Vini Jr. up against Hart, but the goalkeeper stood strong to deny the Brazilian.
Éder Militão was forced off at the break with a knock and was replaced by Antonio Rüdiger. The whole complexion of the contest changed in the 56th minute. The European champions hit the front following a move that involved the same duo who combined for the winning goal against Liverpool in the Paris showpiece. Fede Valverde played in an inviting cross from the right and Vini Jr. applied the perfect first-time finish as the Brazilian extended his purple patch to four goals in as many games.
The visitors doubled their money just four minutes later. Hazard set off on a solo run and drove up to the 18-yard box, before teeing up Modrić. The Croatian did the rest by cutting onto his left foot, then keeping the ball under his control despite it bobbling around for a moment and finally poking it past Hart to send it home. This goal came in his 100th Champions League outing in madridista colors.
However, there was still time for our boys to further extend their advantage. Kroos sprayed the ball out to Dani Carvajal, whose first-time pass to Hazard left the Belgian with the simplest of tap-ins to complete a fine team work. The madridistas could have even made it four when a chance fell to Rodrygo with 90 minutes on the clock. The Brazilian let fly from the edge of the area, only to see his effort whistle narrowly past the upright. The reigning champions come away from Glasgow with maximum points after opening the defense of their crown in emphatic fashion.
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