Rafael Benitez began his tenure as manager of Celta Vigo in the Algarve Trophy, a neutral tournament that included Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr. The Galician side appeared much more attractive.
Academy product Gael Alonso opened the scoring in the second half, Ronaldo and Marcelo Brozovic having been substituted early in the second half.
Miguel Rodriguez added to Jorgen Strand Larsen’s goal to give Celta a commanding 3-0 lead. Benitez’s tactics were beginning to take shape by this stage. Larsen completed his hat trick before the conclusion of the match, resulting in a 5-0 victory for Benitez and Celta.
Ronaldo, ever gracious in defeat, then proclaimed that the team that had thrashed him was not from a legitimate league, the Premier League being the only one.
Benitez, however, can be satisfied with his team’s debut performance, so this will be a mere footnote. Without his talisman, Iago Aspas, they were able to score five goals in the second half despite a complete lineup change.
They face Benfica on Friday in their other Algarve Trophy friendly match.
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