The Japan Times - Valverde strikes late as Real Madrid beat Celta Vigo

The Uruguayan midfielder needed a stroke of fortune at the death to pull his team to within one point of leaders Barcelona, who visit Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Aurelien Tchouameni opened the scoring for Los Blancos early on but Borja Iglesias soon pulled Celta level at their Balaidos stadium.

Alvaro Arbeloa's Madrid, without injured striker Kylian Mbappe, had lost their previous two league games and are struggling to find consistent form.

Valverde's shot, which flew into Celta's net after bouncing off former Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso, stopped his side going three consecutive La Liga matches without a win.

As well as French superstar Mbappe, the team's top goalscorer, Arbeloa was without several other players including Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo Goes and Eduardo Camavinga.

Arbeloa started 18-year-old midfielder Thiago Pitarch for the first time and he offered a decent display even as his team failed to impress.

Iglesias forced Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into a solid low save with a drive from the edge of the box in the opening exchanges.

Arbeloa's side started well and Vinicius Junior struck the post before Tchouameni put them ahead in the 11th minute.

The French midfielder produced a fine finish from the edge of the box as Madrid worked a corner to him, his strike hitting the upright on its way in.

Celta were not discouraged though and some poor defending from Trent Alexander-Arnold let them back in.

The England international allowed Williot Swedberg to get in behind him and then lacked the agility to block off the Swede, who cut the ball across for Iglesias to finish.

Courtois made a good save to keep Swedberg at bay before the break, as sixth-place Celta largely gave as good as they got.

Madrid appealed for a penalty when Ferran Jutgla handled the ball in the box, but a VAR review showed there was a push on a Celta defender just before and no spot kick was awarded.

Celta substitute Iago Aspas hit the post late on and it seemed like his team were destined for a point as the clock ticked down.

However in the final minute of stoppage time Valverde's effort from the edge of the box hit Alonso and left Celta goalkeeper Ionut Radu wrong-footed.

Despite the victory, Madrid's form and their injury list does not inspire confidence ahead of next week's Champions League last 16 clash against Manchester City.

Y.Ishikawa--JT