Celta Vigo 2-1 Deportivo Alaves result, stats and report

The Basics, Delivered When It Mattered

Celta Vigo beat Deportivo Alaves 2-1 at home on Sunday afternoon in La Liga. That is the result. That is all that matters. But let me tell you what I saw, because this match tells you a lot about desire, accountability, and what happens when one side competes and the other does not.

Celta came in with one win from five La Liga matches, four draws and no defeats. Solid enough defensively, but a team that had struggled to kill games off. Alaves arrived in worse shape. Three losses, one draw and one win from their last five. They had been conceding too freely and winning too rarely. The thing is, the form book does not always tell the full story. What matters is what you do on the day.

A Quiet First Half and a Boiling Point

The first 45 minutes did not produce a goal, but it was not without incident. Sebastián Cáceres picked up a yellow card for Alaves in the 15th minute for a foul. Toni Martínez was booked on the stroke of half time for the same reason. Two players, both booked before the second half even kicked off. That is a discipline problem. That is unacceptable.

Alaves dominated possession in the match, finishing with 52 per cent to Celta's 48. They put 20 shots on goal to Celta's six. They had 15 goal attempts inside the box to Celta's three. On paper, Alaves should have won this football match. That is exactly the point. You play the match on grass, not paper.

Celta Make Their Moments Count

The second half started with Alaves making two substitutions immediately, bringing on Aleix Febas and Javi Rueda. Whatever was said at half time, it did not fix the basic problem, which was that Alaves were creating chances and wasting them.

Celta took the lead on 53 minutes. Ferran Jutgla scored with a left foot shot, assisted by Javi Rodríguez. Clinical. One chance, one goal. That is how you compete at this level. Alaves had nine shots on target across the match and scored once. Celta had three shots on target and scored twice. That is accountability in its most brutal form.

Celta's goalkeeper made eight saves. Eight. The man was outstanding. Alaves were knocking on the door all afternoon and the Celta keeper refused to let them in. That is what standards look like. That is what commitment to the basics looks like.

Aspas Changes the Game

On 70 minutes, Celta brought on Iago Aspas. Within a minute of that change, Javi Rodríguez made it 2-0, finishing with a right foot shot, assisted by Aspas. That is what top players do. That is why you have them in your squad. Aspas comes on, touches the ball, produces a goal. The attitude required to do that, to be ready the moment you are called upon, that is the difference between players who compete and players who do not.

Listen, Alaves had 10 accurate crosses. Celta had one. Alaves had 32 total crosses to Celta's six. They were getting into good areas. But crossing the ball and converting from crosses are two different things, and Alaves could not do the second part. That is not about tactics. That is about execution. It is a basic skill. End of.

Alaves Pull One Back But the Damage Is Done

Hugo Novoa scored for Alaves on 87 minutes, assisted by Mariano Díaz, who had come on as a substitute. It made the scoreline 2-1 and gave Alaves something to fight for in the closing minutes. It also told you everything about Alaves. Novoa came on as a substitute himself at 62 minutes and scored 25 minutes later. The man was ready. The players who started the match were not ready enough. That is a question the Alaves manager needs to answer.

Celta saw it out. They had to. Alaves threw everything at them in those final minutes and Celta's keeper had already made eight saves before that late goal. The discipline held. The desire was there. That is what winning ugly looks like and there is nothing wrong with winning ugly.

What the Numbers Say and What They Do Not

Alaves had 132 attacks to Celta's 99. They had 59 dangerous attacks to Celta's 22. They won 52 duels to Celta's 49. On almost every attacking statistic in this match, Alaves were the dominant side. The thing is, football is not decided by attacks or crosses or possession. It is decided by goals. And Celta scored two. Alaves scored one.

Celta's accuracy in front of goal was brutal and direct. When their big chance arrived, they did not miss it. Alaves missed their big chance. That stat is right there in the numbers. One big chance created for each side. Alaves missed theirs. Celta did not. That is the difference between winning and losing. It is not complicated.

Form Context and What Comes Next

For Celta, this win breaks a run of four successive draws in La Liga. They showed they can grind out a result when it is tight, when the opposition is on top, and when their goalkeeper is working overtime. That is character. The defence held firm when it needed to and the forwards were ruthless when the moments came.

For Alaves, this is a third loss from five La Liga matches. They have been conceding too often and not converting enough. The attitude of some players coming off the bench and making immediate impacts suggests the starting selections need a hard look. If your substitutes are doing more than your starters, that is a conversation that needs to happen.

Celta Vigo deserved this. They competed. They took their chances. They kept their shape. Three points. End of.