Arda Guler debate following Real Madrid's loss of points
In Week 13 of Spain's LaLiga, Real Madrid drew 2-2 away to Elche. Arda Guler started the match in the first 11 and remained on the pitch for 64 minutes. With this result, Real Madrid secured their second consecutive draw in the league and remained at the top with 32 points. Elche, meanwhile, remained in 11th place with 16 points. Following the match, Arda Guler received significant coverage in the Spanish press, with all criticism centring on Xabi Alonso's decision not to play Guler in his natural position.
In the match where our national footballer Arda Guler started in the starting eleven, Real Madrid faced Elche away in the 13th week of LaLiga. In the match played at Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Real Madrid, who fell behind twice, left the pitch with a 2-2 draw.
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The goals that earned Real Madrid a point were scored by Dean Huijsen in the 78th minute and Jude Bellingham in the 87th minute. The home side's goals were scored by Aleix Febas in the 53rd minute and Alvaro Rodríguez in the 84th minute. With this result, Real Madrid lost points for the second consecutive match and the third time overall in LaLiga. Although they remain top of the table with 32 points, the gap between them and their closest rivals Barcelona has narrowed to just one point.
National footballer Arda Guler started the match for Real Madrid in the starting eleven and played for 64 minutes. Our national footballer touched the ball 55 times, achieving a 93 per cent pass accuracy, 2 key passes and a 4 per cent ball recovery rate.
According to Defensa Central's report, Kylian Mbappe reacted strongly to Guler for not passing him the ball, clearly expressing his displeasure by saying, ‘Arda, pass me the ball.’ The statements included in the report are as follows:
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Madrid are controlling the ball, but Mbappe said they need to be quicker than Guler so they can create danger. ‘Arda, you must pass the ball to me first; if you dribble it, we'll lose our advantage,’ he said.
Following the match, Guler once again received extensive coverage in the Spanish press, with Football Espana stating: ‘He was very active in terms of playmaking, but he exposed his defensive weaknesses by letting Febas get away from him several times in Elche's first goal.’
The statements in Marca read as follows: ‘First half: He completed his position by competing well with his opponent. What a beautiful move he made with his left foot. In the second half, Arda faced Febas, who shielded the ball perfectly and forced the Turkish player to commit a foul. In the 64th minute, he was substituted as he began to tire.’
Sport Illustrated, meanwhile, wrote that ‘he struggled in a deeper position. Nevertheless, Guler created two big chances for Real Madrid before being substituted in the 64th minute,’ suggesting, as other platforms had done, that Guler was not playing in the right position.
