Celta’s European dream died this afternoon at Balaídos against Freiburg’s power. After the 3-0 first leg, the German team left no room for the Galicians to fantasize about a fabulous comeback like the magical nights of that Euro-Celta decades ago when Vigo took down giants like Zidane and Ancelotti’s Juve. Claudio Giráldez’s men were once again inferior to their rival, a very dominant team in duels and organized with the ball thanks to the judgment of players like Manzzambi, Suzuki, or Beste. The stormy start that Balaídos expected remained only an illusion due to Freiburg’s extraordinary intensity, which ended the tie with a great goal from Matanovic and a double from Suzuki and will face the winner of Betis-Braga in their first semifinal in the tournament.
The chosen one to replace the absence of Starfelt, the defense chief, was the youth player Yoel Lago, accompanied by Marcos Alonso and Javi Rodríguez in the central defense line. Ilaix and Vecino formed the midfield, with Fer López, Jutglá, and Borja Iglesias up front. Iago Aspas started on the bench. The Moaña striker has not yet decided at 38 whether he will continue next season, and it is unknown if today will be the last continental adventure of the most important player in the club’s history.
There was no initial Celta avalanche or anything resembling it to press the tie and heat up the stadium. The Vigo team matched the Germans in divided balls and did not suffer as much as they did a week earlier in Freiburg, but they lacked football. Miguel Román’s absence has hurt the group a lot in the engine room. The midfielder from Gondomar was the man who gave meaning and organization to the game. Neither Ilaix nor Vecino have the same characteristics as the youth player. Without that piece to break lines with one or two touches, the team struggled a lot to weave through Freiburg’s sticky and hellish pressure. The man-to-man physical combat all over the field designed by Julian Schuster worked for the German coach: Celta’s attacks deflated after a few passes while his players hid the ball in every corner.
The only thing Freiburg conceded in the opening was a threatening run by Fer López from the center. The attacking midfielder’s final pass to set up Jutglá in a clear position to finish in front of Atubolu fell short. That was where Celta’s minimal offensive production stalled in the first stretch while Schuster’s team struck first. Makengo broke free behind Javi Rueda on a free kick taken from the midfield and returned the ball back with one touch to Matanovic. The Croatian nailed a fantastic volley with his left foot from the edge of the area that went near the right top corner of Radu’s goal.
The blow left Celta stunned at 33 minutes, and the emotional hit was even greater on the edge of halftime when Suzuki scored the second after a combination with Beste, killing any remote comeback option. Freiburg’s football was so devastating that at the start of the second half, the Japanese attacking midfielder scored the third in an action where Fer López and Marcos Alonso easily lost their duels. The Germans’ efficiency nullified the four changes Giráldez made at halftime: Aspas, Swedberg, Carreira, and El-Abdellaoui for Borja Iglesias, Javi Rueda, Yoel Lago, and Ilaix.
The Germans’ superiority was so evident that with six goals advantage in the tie, Scherlant hit the post while Celta had not yet shot on goal in the entire tie. The score invited Schuster to make changes. Only then did Freiburg allow their rival to breathe. El-Abdellaoui missed two one-on-ones, and Jutglá headed a corner onto the post before Swedberg scored in stoppage time. Despite the thrashing, Balaídos gave a formidable ovation to their own for making them live an exciting continental adventure nine years later. The team fell in the tournament quarterfinals but fights in sixth place in the League to return to Europe next season.
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