Coming into this round of fixtures firmly embroiled in a relegation battle, Celta Vigo wasted no time in heaping more misery on their bottom-placed and winless hosts, with Iago Aspas opening the scoring inside ten minutes to fire Celta into a commanding early position. Celta could also count themselves unlucky not to have reached the half-hour mark two goals to the good, after Gabri Veiga weaved his way through the Elche defence with consummate ease, only for Elche stopper Édgar Badía to put everything behind Veiga’s stinging drive.
That save gave basement boys Elche a platform to go in search of an unlikely equaliser, and given the gulf between the sides in the first half, it was perhaps no surprise to see Elche’s first meaningful effort on goal come from a set piece. Gerard Gumbau produced an effort with whip and dip that looked destined for the top corner, but Agustín Marchesín produced a stunning save to preserve Celta’s lead.
This was certainly a tense affair as the game began to reach its climax, with both sides trading blows in search of finding that all-important second goal. Veiga came close to wrapping the game up for Celta, while Lucas Boyé tried his best to forge Elche back into the game. But nothing was coming off for the hosts, as they inched closer to emulating last season’s relegated Levante squad, who failed to win across the first 16 La Liga rounds.
Having led at half-time in two of their last four games and squandered the lead, there were certainly nerves in the Celta back line in the closing stages, but they managed to hold on and ensure Elche’s winless start to the season stretches on, with their misery being compounded in stoppage time with Pedro Bigas’ dismissal.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Gabri Veiga (Celta Vigo)
