Arsen Zakharyan has already made his debut with Real Sociedad and will soon join the best Spanish club. On Sunday, September 17, the Basques will visit Real Madrid. I would like to believe that in the Santiago Bernabéu match Zakharyan will be able to announce himself to all of Spain.
Russian footballers have fond memories of their meetings with the Royal Club. In 1998, Alexander Mostovoy literally single-handedly took care of Celta’s game against Madrid, scoring a double. You will be able to see the first goal forever!
Real Madrid desperate
The 1997/98 season was Mostovoy’s second as part of Celta. By that time, Alexander had already become a stable starting player. In his first season he played 31 games and scored five goals. In the second year, the Russian played even more often, but the goal statistics remained at approximately the same level. However, it was not necessary for the midfielder to score: he had other tasks.
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However, Mostovoi achieved some scoring feats. Before the match with Real on April 11, he scored a goal each against Valencia, Racing, Deportivo and even Barcelona, as well as a double against Salamanca.
On matchday 33, in which Celta and Real were supposed to face each other, the intrigue in the race for the championship died without returning to consciousness. Madrid was already in first place, 11 points behind Barcelona! We could only hope that Jupp Heynckes’ team at least did not lose second place…
Celta, for its part, is in sixth position and five points behind the whites. For a modest club from Vigo, this was already a very solid result.
Bargaining to Mostovoy
Almost immediately after the opening whistle of the match in Vigo, the difficult psychological state of Real Madrid became evident. Realizing that the championship was no longer in sight, Madrid seemed to have lost motivation: they seemed bored and lacked initiative. Celta took advantage of his strength, taking into account, of course, the class of the enemy.
Mostovoy received the ball near the rival area and seemed to get a little confused with the handling. However, the Russian turned around unexpectedly, confusing Real’s defense. With a slightly clumsy but unpredictable dribble, he entered the penalty area, without allowing three opponents to even get close to the ball! Then all that was left was to beat the German goalkeeper Bodo Illgner, which the Celta midfielder did very easily. A powerful shot from horseback towards the near corner and now the locals lead the score. Just a crazy goal!
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Unfortunately, the joy over the Russian’s brilliant shot did not last long. Real Madrid managed to score in the locker room: Fernando Hierro scored from a penalty. However, it was Celta’s day. Already in the 56th minute, the Vigo players, without the best attacking play, managed to earn a penalty return: during a corner kick, a crowd began in the Madrid area, so defender Goran Djorovic fell on the grass. The referee, without hesitation, pointed out the penalty and Mostovoy calmly converted the penalty. This goal was the winning goal in the match.
That season, Celta remained in 6th place and qualified for the European Cup for the first time in 27 years. Real eventually lost second and third place, handing them over to Athletic Bilbao and Sociedad. However, there was no big difference for the Madrid team: everything that is not gold is a failure.
