Celta ratings: el jefecito Román shines as Borja Iglesias scores brace | OneFootball

Miguel Román ran the midfield as Celta opened 2026 by beating Valencia 4-1, with Borja Iglesias scoring twice on his return from injury. As reported by AS, the midfielder offered range, intensity and variety on the ball, standing out before the break.

Valencia missed an early chance when Aidoo conceded a clear penalty, only for Pepelu to fail from the spot. Celta went ahead as Borja won and converted a penalty for 1-0, then doubled the lead when Mingueza split the defence and Pablo Durán squared for the striker.

The visitors replied after a poor clearance from Marcos Alonso, with Radu rooted as the ball went in. The goalkeeper otherwise exuded calm, though he almost conceded another penalty racing out at Hugo Duro and was briefly dazed after a head knock. Radu has faced seven league penalties, conceding two, saving two and seeing three missed without touching the ball.

El-Abdellaoui restored the cushion with a surging run for 3-1, easily outpacing Diakhaby, then later spurned an open goal in similar fashion. Hugo Álvarez added the fourth after a pass from Iago Aspas, the injured Valencia keeper offering no resistance. Aspas then urged team-mates to ease off once Pepelu went in goal.

Mingueza had earlier forced a save and grew into his defensive duties. Ilaix Moriba grafted without influence in attack, while Carreira read the game well and contained Thierry Correia before joining forward play. Javi Rodríguez battled until a booking on Danjuma and went off with muscle fatigue.

Source: AS