Celta Vigo, resounding victory with Ionuț Radu in goal » The Romanian managed a historic series
Article by Daniel Grigore – Published Saturday, 03 January 2026 20:45 / Updated Saturday, 03 January 2026 20:46
Ionuț Radu (28 years old) was an integralist in Celta Vigo – Valencia 4-1, match from the 18th stage of the Spanish championship. The Romanian goalkeeper was defeated for the first time after 344 minutes in which he had kept the Galician goal intact.
Celta Vigo continue their excellent form in the championship, where they are unbeaten since December (3 wins, one draw).
Today, with Ionuț Radu in goal, the Galicians beat Valencia, 4-1.
The Bats started the better and earned a penalty in the 6th minute when Aidoo brought down Almeida in his own box. Pepelu executed the penalty kick, but hit the right bar! Radu had guessed the corner chosen by the “bats” midfielder.
Celta Vigo, resounding victory with Ionuț Radu in goal
If the guests didn't score from the penalty, Celta did it, through Borja Iglesiasin the 33rd minute. The same Iglesias scored to make it 2-0 in the 59th minute, completing a formality after being left with an empty net by Duran's pass.
Valencia reduced the gap in the 70th minute, Pepper scoring from outside the box with a shot to which Radu was masked and remained frozen, but the hosts still had the last word. El Abdellaoui made it 3-1 in the 84th minute, on the counterattack, again Hugo Alvarez set the final score in '90+4.
Sixth longest clean sheet in the 21st century
In total, Ionuț Radu managed 4 saves in today's match. The Romanian received 20 goals in 18 stages in La Liga. He had not been beaten since 0-1 with Espanyol on November 30, 344 consecutive minutes without conceding a goal.
It is, according to statistician Fran Martinez, the sixth-longest such streak by a Celta Vigo goalkeeper in the 21st century. The record is held by Pablo Cavallero, with 742 minutes without conceding a goal in 2003.
Thanks to today's victory, Celta climbed to 7th place, having 26 points, two below Real Betis.
MARCA gave Radu a star for his performance against the “bats”, the maximum qualification being 3 stars, given only to Borja Iglesias. Radu was not the only player with a star on the winning team. Aidoo, Marcos Alonso, Miguel Roman, Swedberg and 3 of those coming off the bench were also scored.
