Real Madrid defender played through sickness during win vs Celta Vigo | OneFootball

Real Madrid’s win over Celta Vigo at the weekend was as important as it gets, but the team complicated the game from a rather comfortable position and took it down to the wire.

An Arda Guler goal and a brace from Kylian Mbappe took the Merengues 3-0 up immediately after half-time and Los Blancos looked set to cruise to a win.

Raul Asencio’s substitution in the 66th minute, however, changed the texture of the game as the only available substitute in the department – Jacobo Ramon – struggled to hold his own and Real Madrid conceded two goals in a span of seven minutes.

Asencio’s battle

As relayed in a recent update by AS, Asencio played the game against Celta despite not being in top physical condition for he was actually suffering from a bug in the days leading up to the game.

The centre-back had been vomiting for 48 hours before the game and was very weak. However, he vowed to Ancelotti to fight as long as he could and he delivered 66 flawless minutes for Los Blancos.

Toughed it out vs Celta despite dealing with illness. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)

The youngster had barely slept in two days ahead of the game owing to his health and was experiencing recurrent vomition and diarrhoea which left him dehydrated and made him lose weight.

Asencio’s decision to take to the field despite his health scare, needless to say, proves his loyalty to the crest.

Given the injuries to Antonio Rudiger, Eder Militao, and David Alaba, Asencio’s exclusion would leave Real Madrid completely exposed at the back after all.

On the night, the academy graduate made three clearances, one tackle, one last-man tackle and completed 95% of his passes. Further, he also racked up one key pass and won 100% of the duels he participated in.