Real Madrid's hopes for a first ever treble were washed away in the Galician rain as Celta sent Los Blancos packing from the Copa del Rey with a 2-2 draw in their quarterfinal second leg on Wednesday night at Balaidos in Vigo.
The result earned Celta a 4-3 victory on aggregate and earns them a berth in the Copa semifinals, joining Alaves, Alteico Madrid and the winner of Barcelona-Real Sociedad.
A Danilo own goal late in the first half pushed Celta into the lead, but Cristiano Ronaldo gave Real life with a sensational free kick midway through the second half. Daniel Wass then scored a goal that looked like it was going to end Los Blancos' hopes, but Lucas Vazquez scored in the match's waning moments to give Real a small slice of hope. In the end though, Celta got the job done by playing with the same brave style that suited them so well in their 2-1 first leg victory.
Meanwhile, for Real, the absences of key players like Luka Modric and Marcelo were clearly felt, as Real have now suffered three defeats in their last four matches.
Real's concerning injury situation forced manager Zinedine Zidane to get creative with his starting XI and so Casemiro was dropped back into defence to play centre-back. Free from the whistles of the Bernabeu, Danilo was restored to right-back, while Mateo Kovacic, Marco Asensio and Isco each got the nod in a four-man midfield.
Real clearly looked the more urgent side to start but encountered a spirited Celta defence. Zidane had Danilo playing high up the pitch to increase the pressure in attack and to free up Isco, and it helped yield the game's first real chance just shy of the half-hour mark. How, exactly, Ronaldo did not score on said chance will be wondered for ages.
Isco curled in a cross and Ronaldo beat Cabral in the air and smacked a header that looked bound for the back of the net. But the ball banged off the crossbar and right back to the feet of Ronaldo, whose reaction shot then struck the post and off to the right. The dismay on the face of the Portuguese was a story all itself.
It was the reprieve that Celta needed and soon the Galicians were swarming the Real goal. Goalkeeper Kiko Casilla stood tall and turned away a trio of chances, but there was nothing he could to stop Danilo from depositing the ball into his own net just a minute before half-time to hand Celta a 1-0 lead in the match and 3-1 on aggregate. Wass got loose deep in the Real area and swung a pass over to Guidetti, whose shot was blocked by Casilla, but the rebound bounced right off the leg of Danilo and the maligned defender's shoulders sunk as the ball bounced in for a goal.
Still in need of two goals, but now to force extra-time, Real sought a response and it came from their talisman Ronaldo with a fantastically struck free right after the hour mark. The former Manchester United man found a small pocket of space on the right side of the Celta wall and sent a missile that went searing past Sergio Alvarez to draw Real level 1-1 in the match and make the aggregate 3-2.
The goal gave Real a huge boost, and Sergio Ramos nearly repeated his recent header heroics minutes later off a Toni Kroos free kick but this time the effort was wide. But Celta found their footing and pushed back the Real attack as the match headed in a dramatic final 15 minutes.
Zidane went all in with his substitutions, brining on both Lucas Vazquez and Alvaro Morata, but it was Celta who found the game's decisive goal as a chance fell to Wass five minutes from time and the Danish strike fired in past Casilla to give Celta a 2-1 lead in the match and 4-3 on aggregate.
Real still had a heartbeat though and Lucas Vazquez made for a nervy final four minutes for the home fans when he headed in to make it a 2-2 affair and 4-3 on aggregate.
Zidane's men needed just one goal and every time Real touched the ball, anxiety could be felt throughout Balaidos. But another goal was not in the making and Sanchez Martinez's final whistle ended any hopes of another late Real miracle.

Real will look to regroup on Sunday when they host Real Sociedad.

- Match Sheet:

2.- Celta: Sergio; Hugo Mallo, Cabral, Roncaglia, Jonny; Wass (Sergi Gomez, min. 88), Marcelo Díaz, Radoja; Aspas (Fontas, min. 94), Guidetti (Jozabed, min. 84), Bongonda.

2.- Real Madrid: Casilla; Danilo, Casemiro (Mariano, min. 89), Sergio Ramos, Nacho; Isco (Morata, min. 80), Kroos, Kovacic; Asensio (Lucas Vazquez, min. 76), Cristiano, Benzema.

Goals: 1-0, min. 44: Danilo (O.G.); 1-1, min. 63: Ronaldo; 2-1, min. 85: Wass; 2-2, min. 90: Lucas Vazquez

Referee: Sanchez Martinez (Murcia). Yellow Cards: Hugo Mallo (Min. 47) for Celta, Wass (Min. 54) for Celta, Jonny (Min. 72) for Celta, Danilo (Min. 75) for Real Madrid,

Stadium: Balaidos

Attendance: 29,000