Iglesias Double Leads Celta to Commanding Victory

The opening goal arrived from the penalty spot in the 33rd minute when Iglesias stepped up and confidently converted with his right foot, sending the ball low to the bottom right corner past Julen Agirrezabala. The striker doubled his tally just past the hour mark, latching onto Pablo Durán's clever assist to slot home a left-footed finish from the center of the box in the 59th minute. Valencia briefly threatened a comeback when Pepelu unleashed a stunning right-footed strike from distance in the 70th minute, curling into the bottom left corner to make it 2-1. However, any hopes of a revival were extinguished when Jones El Abdellaoui finished off a devastating counter-attack in the 83rd minute, firing right-footed into the bottom left corner. Hugo Álvarez added gloss to the scoreline deep into stoppage time, receiving Iago Aspas' assist to rifle home from the left side of the box in the 94th minute.

The tactical battle told a fascinating story of possession without penetration. Valencia dominated the ball with 59.6% possession, pinning Celta back for long stretches, yet Claudio Giráldez's side demonstrated ruthless counter-attacking efficiency. Óscar Mingueza orchestrated Celta's transitions from right-back, while Marcos Alonso provided defensive solidity on the opposite flank. In midfield, Ilaix Moriba won crucial duels to disrupt Valencia's rhythm, forcing Javi Guerra and André Almeida into increasingly desperate attempts to unlock the home defense. Ionut Radu proved decisive in Celta's goal, making four crucial saves to preserve his side's advantage, while Valencia's Agirrezabala managed just two stops before suffering a late injury that forced him to play on after his side had exhausted their substitutions.

The statistics painted a different picture than the scoreline suggested. Valencia registered 16 shots to Celta's 12 and edged the shots on target count 5-6. Yet Celta's clinical finishing—converting half their efforts on goal—contrasted sharply with Valencia's wastefulness in the final third. Hugo Duro epitomized the visitors' frustration, seeing a point-blank effort saved by Radu in the 86th minute and heading narrowly wide earlier in the match. The foul count remained relatively even at 10-9, though Valencia collected three yellow cards to Celta's one, with Copete, Largie Ramazani, and Hugo Duro all cautioned.

The turning point arrived in the 59th minute with Iglesias' second goal, which effectively killed Valencia's hopes of salvaging anything from the match. Despite controlling possession and creating chances, Valencia's inability to convert their territorial advantage into goals proved fatal. Rubén Baraja's substitutions—introducing Arnaut Danjuma, Luis Rioja, and César Tárrega—failed to stem the tide as Celta grew increasingly confident on the break. Bryan Zaragoza tormented Valencia's defense down the flanks before making way for Hugo Álvarez, who capped his cameo appearance with the fourth goal.

Looking ahead, Celta will host Sevilla on January 11, while Valencia will host Elche on the same date as they desperately seek to arrest their alarming slide toward the relegation zone.