Real Madrid falls 16points behind Barcelona after Celta figo draw!

Gareth Bale scored a quick-fire brace for Real Madrid, but it was only enough to secure a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo at Balaidos on Sunday.Celta Vigo 2 Real Madrid 2Wass scores superb openerBale hits back with doubleNavas saves Aspas penaltyGomez restores parity late on

Match Summary

Zinedine Zidane's side battled back from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead into the break, but Celta eventually earned a share of the spoils with a late equaliser from Maxi Gomez, having failed to convert a penalty earlier in the second half.

Full Report

An exciting first half flowed from end to end as the two teams looked to attack at every opportunity.

Bale was presented with a good chance just two minutes in from Isco's weighted cross on the left, but the winger made poor contact with his head at the back post and the defence cleared the danger.

Ruben was called into action for the first time two minutes later as Cristiano Ronaldo hit a first-time shot straight at him from the edge of the box after connecting with Bale's square pass from the right.

Marcelo threatened again for the visitors on 10 minutes with a volley that he lashed over from 20 yards out after a mistake from Facundo Roncaglia let him in.

But Juan Carlos Unzue's men nearly broke the deadlock three minutes later when Iago Aspas steered Hugo Mallo's cross from the right against the frame of the goal from six yards out.

Isco had a pop from range on 24 minutes as he brought a defensive clearance under control on the left and took a shot that drifted wide of the right post, while Daniel Wass also failed to hit the target at the other end on the counter moments later after being teed up on the edge of the box by Maxi Gomez.

Casemiro then tested Ruben with a dipping strike from 25 yards out that was tipped over the crossbar on 26 minutes, and it was an important save as Celta opened the scoring seven minutes later.

Wass eluded the offside trap to race onto Aspas' through-ball and send the ball over Keylor Navas with a cheeky chip from 18 yards out.

But Real hit back just three minutes after going behind as Bale similarly beat the offside trap to latch onto Toni Kroos' weighted through-ball and slot past Ruben into the bottom-right corner of the net with a first-time finish.

The Welsh star proved just as elusive on 38 minutes when he flicked Isco's inch-perfect pass beyond Ruben into the bottom-left corner of the goal to punish a static Celta defence and put Los Blancos ahead going into the break.

The second half lacked the same energy, although there was still plenty of excitement for the crowd, the vast majority who cheered when Ronaldo blazed high and wide from 19 yards out after connecting with a poor defensive clearance in the 54th minute.

Aspas showed his determination on the hour mark as he made his way to the edge of the area before being crowded out, but still managed to pick out Jonny, who fizzed a shot over the bar from 20 yards out.

Ronaldo drew a routine save out of Ruben with a tame header five minutes later, and Navas was perhaps fortunate to only receive a yellow card for bringing Aspas down for a penalty on 71 minutes. But the Chilean made amends as he guessed the right way to deny Aspas at full stretch to his right.

Ronaldo's poor evening continued when he hit a weak shot straight at Ruben from inside the box on the right after being played in by Lucas Vazquez, and Celta went up the pitch to restore parity with eight minutes left on the clock.

Aspas played Wass in on the right and the Dane's exquisite cross was powered home by an unmarked Gomez.

There was still time for Vazquez to clinch victory late on for Real, but he failed to beat Ruben from close range after being picked out inside the box by Casemiro in stoppage time.