Williot Swedberg was on the pitch only because of a shoulder injury to Pablo Duran.
Look at the stats from this season, and it was understandable: Swedberg had started just two of the first 14 matches of this LaLiga season for Celta Vigo and hadn't even been in the squad for six of them. Look at the numbers from beyond -- nine goals in 58 LaLiga games across three and some seasons for Celta, none in 2025/26 -- and there was even less of a reason for him to start; or for Celta fans to be excited at the prospect of the 21-year-old Swede replacing Duran (who'd at least scored twice this season) at half time. Especially not against Real Madrid. Especially not at the Santiago Bernabeu.
The thing is, though, there was reason to be a little excited. You see, of those nine LaLiga goals of his, two had come against Real Madrid, last season. Sure, they'd come in narrow losses (the second in a 3-2 loss at the Bernabeu, the equaliser at the time in a 2-1 loss at Balaidos), but they were well taken goals and showed that the youngster didn't fear the stage, or the opponent. Eight minutes into his appearance on Sunday, he showed that last season's goals hadn't been flukes.
It started in midfield, where left wing back Oscar Mingueza picked up the ball from Miguel Roman in midfield. Collecting with his left, he shuffled it quickly to his right and easily threw off Arda Guler before reversing it to Ilaix Moriba who'd picked up a pocket of space in the inside-left channel. A quick turn, and he set Bryan Zaragoza free on the left. In acres, the left winger ran straight at a furiously backtracking Raul Asencio, deeply uncomfortable at right back, and that's all the freedom Zaragoza needed to advance into the box and slash a low cross into the general vicinity of the penalty spot. Mingueza, adventurous as ever, attempted to connect but got nowhere near and the ball, but behind him Swedberg had anticipated that, and made a clever little move.
Cutting in from the inside-right channel, he let Borja Iglesias drift to the far post, and moved to the left, parallel to goal, to meet Zaragoza's cross. Here, most players would have taken a touch and looked to swivel and shoot, and that's what the Madrid centre-backs Antonio Rudiger and Alvaro Carreras would have anticipated as they looked poised to run at him the moment, he took that predicted touch. Except... he didn't.
Swedberg stuns the Bernabéu 😳💥
A no-look finish that leaves Courtois rooted, and suddenly Real Madrid are staring at a nightmare result.#LALIGA pic.twitter.com/a7jGPwFom0
- FanCode (@FanCode) December 7, 2025
Running at the cross, he raised his right leg and nonchalantly flicked it off the outside of his boot first time. And straight into the bottom far corner. It was a goal of incredible imagination, and even less believable skill; his third goal against Madrid and this time it had been the opener.
The game erupted after that. Eleven minutes later, Fran Garcia got sent off for a second yellow in a minute, the second a bad tackle on Swedberg. In the 91st, Carreras got sent off for two yellows inside a few seconds, both for dissent. Then, in the 93rd, Swedberg was in the thick of it again, involved in a counterattack that ended with him rounding Thibaut Courtois and walking it into the net. Socks at his ankles, he had all the swagger of a man who'd just walked a last-minute goal into the Madrid net at the Bernabeu, a man who'd just scored his fourth (of 11) LaLiga goal against Los Blancos.