After another last-gasp win over rivals Barcelona in El Clasico and a Champions League shootout defeat of Manchester City, Real Madrid continued their winning ways on Friday night with a 1-0 victory over tough side Real Sociedad – at the Anoeta, no less.
Real Madrid are the clear favorites to win LaLiga, racking up three more valuable points in their march to 99 on the season. This match was a hard-fought one against a team that is generally tough to beat at home, but Madrid, as usual, found a way.
They found a way through young attacking midfielder Arda Guler, who took full advantage of his opportunity with Jude Bellingham out due to viral gastroenteritis, scoring a goal in the 29th minute. That strike proved to be the eventual winner for Real Madrid.
Ahead of the match, Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti was asked about Arda Guler, and he actually said that he would make sure to give the Turkish international minutes:
“Arda Güler feels good and he’s ready, he deserves opportunities and chances to play. He could be on the pitch again soon, I will give Arda minutes”.
Well, the minutes for Guler turned out to be pretty “soon” after all. Ancelotti could not have picked a better time to entrust his 19-year-old playmaker with a start, as Guler turned his first LaLiga start into 67 productive, match-defining minutes for Real Madrid.
More minutes should be coming for Guler, even with playing time crowded in an attack loaded with talent, specifically No. 10 Jude Bellingham.
With LaLiga sewn up and the Champions League to play for, Guler has a path to playing time after his Man of the Match performance vs. Real Sociedad, which included two tackles and two dribbles completed to go with the key goal.
The managing editor of The Trivela Effect, Kevin has 15 years of experience in digital media. He has been an editor for NFL Spin Zone, Daily DDT for pro wrestling, Autzen Zoo covering the Oregon Ducks, Musket Fire covering the New England Patriots, The Real Champs covering Real Madrid, Old Juve covering Juventus, Rush The Kop covering Liverpool, and Release The Knappen covering Schalke. His work has been featured in ESPN, Bleacher Report, Yahoo! Sports, NBC Sports, and other outlets. You can contact him at the site’s official Twitter handle @TrivelaEffect or via the site’s official email thetrivelaeffect@gmail.com.