Turkish gem shines upon long-awaited return to the Real Madrid lineup against Leganes | OneFootball

Real Madrid returned to the Santiago Bernabeu after the international break and came back from behind to earn a 3-2 victory against 18th-placed Leganes.

Most of the players returned unscathed from the international break, and Carlo Ancelotti had a fit squad at his disposal, but there was some fatigue. The South American contingent of players, in particular, joined the team just two days before the match.

Although there were no injury concerns, Ancelotti did not want to take any risks with the UEFA Champions League tie against Arsenal coming up.

Hence, the Italian manager handed a start to Brahim Díaz and Arda Guler. This was the Turkish midfielders’ first start since the Copa Del Rey semi-final 1st leg against Real Sociedad on 26th February.

Now, the youngster’s had quite an eventful international break with Turkey. He was suspended for the 1st leg of the Nations League promotion playoffs against Hungary and returned for the 2nd leg, which was to be played away from home.

Turkey won the tie 6-1 on aggregate, with Guler scoring a 39th-minute goal. However, it was his on-field – and later off-field – spat with Dominik Szoboszlai that caught the eye of the fans. It’s fair to say Guler won both battles and was rewarded with a start against Leganes, who are still in the relegation zone.

He began the game on the right side of midfield with Kylian Mbappe being the sole striker upfront. The 20-year-old was off to a slow start in the first few minutes and the pressure of playing in front of the home ground after a considerable amount of time was evident.

However, in the 32nd minute, Guler earned a penalty for Real Madrid – for Mbappe to convert – and after that, he did not look back.

Based on Sofascore statistics, other than winning a penalty, he made as many as 4 key passes and created 2 big chances in the 62 minutes he was on the pitch before being subbed off for Rodrygo. Moreover, the youngster won all his ground duels (3/3), was involved in a couple of defensive actions, and also had a single shot on target.

This performance led to praise from Ancelotti in the post-match presser, speaking about how he showed his potential and read the game brilliantly.

Such a display would be a real confidence booster for Arda Guler, who seemed to have been out of favor since March and finally showed his class when he got the opportunity.

With the semi-final’s 2nd leg against Sociedad on Tuesday at the Bernabeu, the Turkish lad could be in for another start for Real Madrid, and a chance to extend his good run of form.