Celta de Vigo will be the first rival to face Real Madrid with fans at the Bernabéu, after more than 18 months in which the stands of the white stadium have been closed to the public due to the pandemic and the works at the Madrid stadium. The visit of the olívico team to the team trained by Carlo Ancelotti will be on Saturday, September 11 (Madrid will have to play in the Champions League the following week), in a match corresponding to the fourth day of the League. The last match played at the Santiago Bernabéu was the Real Madrid-Barcelona Classic which was played on March 1, 2020.
LaLiga and the RFEF have responded to Real Madrid's request to play the first three days away from home in order to move forward with the stadium remodeling works. A type of request that, in recent years, with the asymmetric and conditional calendar, have been made by several teams that have updated their venues in recent years. A) Yes, The Whites will start the League in the Alavés field, then they will visit Levante on the second day and on the third they will play against Betis at Villamarín. Those three away games, plus the first national team break of the season, scheduled for the first weekend of September, will allow for four weeks of work without the interruptions caused by preparations for a game.
September will be an intense month in the white stadium, since in addition to against Celta three more games will be played at the Bernabéu: those of the League against Mallorca (Wednesday 22) and Villarreal (Saturday 25) and the one that results from the Champions League draw in the first (September 14-15) or second day (days 28 or 29) of the group stage.
During the pandemic, Real Madrid have played 31 official games behind closed doors at the Alfredo Di Stéfano: 25 in the League and six in the Champions League, with a balance of 22 victories, four draws and five defeats. The Valdebebas stadium has also been the scene of two matches for the Spanish National Team: against Ukraine (4-0) and Switzerland (1-0), both from the Nations League.
Celta were the second to last rival who played at the Bernabéu before the outbreak of the pandemic, on February 16, 2020 with the result of a tie, 2-2. Between that game and the Classic on March 1, on February 26 the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 was played against Manchester City (1-2).