Turkish Starboy Arda Guler’s Lone Golazo Keeps Real Madrid Afloat In The Title Race

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Turkish Starboy Arda Guler’s Lone Golazo Keeps Real Madrid Afloat

Real Madrid just managed to stay afloat in the La Liga title race. Going at par with Barcelona, Los Blancos also produced a similar 1-0 victory over mid-table city rivals Getafe. 

Not an easy game by any means for Carlo Ancelotti’s men but the Italian manager would be happy with the job done. 

It needed a solitary goal for Turkish Starboy, Arda Guler and a couple of saves from the Belgian Wall, Thibaut Courtois but Real Madrid now sits 2nd on the table behind Barcelona from 4 points. 

Getafe might be thinking that they could have produced an equaliser at the end but it was not to be. 

Getafe started the match with a bang

Getafe started the match with a bang as they started taking chances and were aggressive in their approach and were at the top till the 15 minute mark but as the visitors eased in, Real Madrid’s midfield took over and with the brilliant midfield of Fede Valverde, Tchouameni, Arda Guler and Brahim Diaz, it was only a matter of time Real asserted their dominance over the city rivals. 

This dominance was converted beautifully by Arda Guler who struck a thunderous shot from outside the box with his weak foot but was enough to bypass the Getafe goalkeeper who was left bamboozled. 

Guler might have not got the preferred time on the pitch this season but he has been influential whenever he has entered the turf and has continued to make an impact.

After this, the 32nd minute saw a combination of Soria and Djene on the line deny Endrick, before six minutes later, Diaz stung the goalkeeper’s gloves with a powerful effort. 

Second-half changes saw Madrid look to get the job done

Second-half changes saw Madrid look to get the job done, while gradually bolstering their rotated ranks ahead of the Copa del Rey final. For Getafe, substitutes Coba and Alvaro added an extra edge, yet the 12th-placed team from South Madrid just couldn’t get anything to go. They agonisingly underperformed a 2.32 xG, with Courtois’ late save in particular, breaking the Azulones’ hearts. Ancelotti’s side prevailed, despite under-performing their 1.40 xG.

After the substitutions Real Madrid did lose the grip of the match as later Courtois had to make several saves in the last quarter of the match and had to take his team through.

Copa Del Rey Final against Barcelona on Saturday

The changes were necessary because Real Madrid will be playing the Copa Del Rey Final against Barcelona on Saturday and they need to be on their toes for that match as Real Madrid is yet to defeat Barca in this season and have already suffered crushing defeats of 4-0 in the La Liga and 5-1 in the Spanish Super Cup final.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men would be on the lookout for the perfect revenge as they would also be aspiring to win the highly coveted Copa Del Rey trophy.

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