Bale Strikes Twice As Real Escape Defeat
Celta: Wales forward Gareth Bale scored twice in his first La Liga start since 20 September as Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo.
Celta went ahead when ex-Liverpool striker Iago Aspas set up Daniel Wass, who lobbed goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Bale, who has had a calf injury this season, netted twice in three minutes after passes from Toni Kroos and Isco.
Aspas had a penalty saved by Navas, but Celta equalised when Maxi Gomez headed in from close range after Wass’ cross.
Celta thought they had won another penalty with only three minutes remaining when Aspas went down under a challenge from Marcelo, but the referee waved play on.
At the other end, Lucas Vazquez had a chance to win it for Real Madrid in the 90th minute but his well-struck shot was saved by home goalkeeper Ruben Blanco. Reigning champions Real stay fourth and are now 16 points behind leaders Barcelona, although they have one game in hand on Ernesto Valverde’s side.
Since losing 3-1 away to Tottenham in the Champions League on November 1, Zinedine Zidane’s team have now only been beaten once in 13 games - the 3-0 home loss to Barca on December 23.
However, this result was another blow to Real’s hopes of retaining their title after Barcelona had beaten Levante 3-0 earlier on Sunday.
Results: Barcelona 3-0 Levante, Celta Vigo 2-2 Real Madrid, Leganes 1-0 Real Sociedad, Ath Bilbao 2-0 Alaves, Villarreal 1-1 Dep La Coruna.