The Real Champs
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3 takeaways from Real Madrid’s Champions League match against Celtic

By Ben Sundock

Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric (L) celebrates after scoring his team second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group F football match between Celtic and Real Madrid, at the Celtic Park stadium, in Glasgow, on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Real Madrid's Croatian midfielder Luka Modric (L) celebrates after scoring his team second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group F football match between Celtic and Real Madrid, at the Celtic Park stadium, in Glasgow, on September 6, 2022. (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN / AFP) (Photo by ANDY BUCHANAN/AFP via Getty Images) /
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Real Madrid withstood a barrage of pressure from Scottish giants Celtic in the preliminary match of the Champions League. With the crowd at Celtic Park celebrating their team’s return to the UCL, Carlo Ancelotti’s squad overcame several obstacles for a 3-0 win.

Real Madrid lost star striker Karim Benzema to an injury half an hour in and Celtic had two or three quality scoring chances.

However, the defending remained stout at the back in the second half and leaned on the introduction of Eden Hazard to mark the fourth win in four away matches already this season.

(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
(Photo by Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images) /

3. Karim Benzema’s injury was a huge blow, but Real Madrid has goalscoring support

Karim Benzema was struggling for well over 15 minutes after tweaking his quadriceps. The French international attempted an overhead kick and was noticeably unable to run before being replaced by Hazard.

The news out of Ciudad Real Madrid Wednesday confirmed the injury that could keep the leading goalscorer from a year ago out for about 10 days or so.

Losing Benzema is a huge blow to the forward line, but with the form Vinicius Junior, Fede Valverde, and Rodrygo are in right now, losing the no. 9 for a few weeks might not hurt the club nearly as much as it would have a year ago.

Eden Hazard – who played in just three UCL matches last season and did not score – helped in the build-up to the second goal and capped off a wonderful team movement and pass from Carvajal to seal the third.

Could Hazard feature as a false nine with Benzema sidelined? Or does Ancelotti shift things up along the forward line? Despite not having a quality like-for-like replacement for Karim (not including Mariano Diaz), Real Madrid has options to work with.

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