Only four minutes with a tailwind

This last problem has been accentuated since the break. In the seven games played since then (634 minutes, including discount against Elche), Carvalhal’s team has only been ahead on the scoreboard in the 4 minutes of discount that followed Aidoo’s goal against the franjiverde team at the end of time regulatory. The rest of the time they have played it evenly (297 minutes) or in tow in the light (356) and they have never been able to come back from an adverse score. All the more neutralize their disadvantage to end up tying the game.

Against Almería, in the first of the games played after the break, the sky-blue team responded twice to the rival’s goals in the first half and allowed the Andalusian team to escape alive from Balaídos after the intermission. Babic put the Andalusians ahead with a header from a corner kick after 7 minutes, Seferovic countered just 3 minutes later, Arnau put Rubi’s team ahead again after a defensive mistake at minute 32 and Carles Pérez equalized again the clash in minute 42 with a powerful left-footed shot from the crown of the area. There weren’t many more chances on either side, except for the shot that Iago Aspas hit the post in stoppage time.

The following matchday, at the Sánchez Pizjuán, the sky seemed to open up for Celta with Pape Guaye being sent off for a double yellow card 20 minutes after the ball started rolling. Playing in numerical superiority did not, however, prevent Sevilla from taking the lead in a set piece action –another corner kick to the near post converted this time by En-Nesyri– in the 43rd minute, converting Celta’s control of the ball into an exercise in impotence. After a loss of the ball, the celestes received a second goal from Acuña in the 81st minute that seemed to leave the game seen for judgment. Then Miguel Rodríguez and Paciencia appeared to draw strength from weakness and tie the match with two almost consecutive goals (minutes 89 and 93) in an impressive final rush.

Against Mallorca in Balaídos, in a clash that played what Javier Aguirre wanted, Celta once again had a lot of trouble doing damage to an opponent well positioned in defense, who closed off their spaces and prevented them from running. A solitary goal from Amath Ndiaye in the 21st minute after a bad clearance from the defense was enough for the vermillions to win the three points. Mallorca had the best chances, although Tapia crashed a ball against the woodwork in the final stretch of the match.

The sky-blue team could do nothing to avoid defeat at the Santiago Bernabéu. Asensio put Carlo Ancelotti’s men ahead three minutes from half-time and Militao, again from set pieces after a corner kick, sealed the game a few minutes after the game resumed. In a period of six minutes with a break in between, Madrid settled the clash.

The only victory after the national team break came in Balaídos against the bottom team, Elche. However, it was not easy for Carvalhal’s team to pierce Edgar Badía’s goal. The goal came after minute 89, when the tie was almost amortized. Aidoo suddenly appeared in the green-and-green area to head a mid-height cross from Cervi into the penalty spot. For four minutes, until the referee whistled the end, Celta was ahead on the scoreboard.

The victory against the bottom club was a mirage in a dramatic month for Celta, who conceded 4 defeats in 5 games. At La Cerámica, against Villarreal, he was seen and not seen. Quique Setién’s men put an end to the clash with a brace from Jackson before the first quarter of an hour was up (minutes 2 and 12). Despite the poor arbitration by González Fuertes, clearly detrimental to the sky-blues, Villarreal allowed themselves the luxury of missing a penalty before Larsen closed the gap in the final minutes of the first half. Celta battled in search of an equalizer, but Terrats’s goal in minute 70 aborted any attempt at a comeback.

The last episode in tow for almost the entire game took place last Wednesday at the Coliséum Alfonso Pérez, where a penalty 50 seconds into the game once again curtailed the expectations of a Celta who fell squarely into the trap that Bordalás gave him in another of those duels against Getafe full of interruptions, Lack of time and constant waste of time. Unhinged by such indigestible dynamics, the sky-blues were incapable of generating danger against David Soria’s frame. Enes Unal converted the maximum penalty in minute 3 and the game was over for Celta.