Despite the significant number of changes in the starting lineup, Real Madrid were able to get the full three points from their last La Liga match against Real Sociedad in the Anoeta.
Carlo Ancelotti took advantage of the 11-point lead that his side enjoys over second-placed Barcelona to rest some of his key players who had to play a highly demanding second leg against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie, and then also had to face Barcelona in La Liga.
Thus, several fringe players got the chance to get some minutes on the pitch, with Dani Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Kepa, Joselu, Brahim Diaz, and Arda Guler all featuring in the starting eleven.
However, it was the youngest of these players, Arda Guler, who had the greatest impact on this match, as he scored the only goal of the game and was also selected as the MVP.
As Mundo Deportivo has reported, the Turk also appeared in front of the microphones after the match and shared his good feelings about his goal and the win:
“I’m very happy about the goal and the victory. I have to thank all my teammates and the coach.”
The youngster has not been getting a lot of chances since his arrival at Real Madrid, but seemed happy with his role, and shared that he was working on his mentality:
“Here the quality of the players is incredible, and we have shown that we are all ready to help. I’m not just working on my physical condition, but also on my mentality. I’m being patient.”
Real Madrid have another difficult game coming up against Bayern Munich in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League, and Guler seemed quite confident about his team’s chances in this tie:
“The Champions belongs to Real Madrid, and we hope to get a good result in Munich for the return leg.”
Although Guler is not expected to start again as Real Madrid face the Bavarians this Wednesday, Ancelotti will be happy with his performance as he has proven that he can help the team whenever they need him.
