Why Arda Güler was taken off early in Real Madrid’s defeat to Real Betis | OneFootball

Real Madrid head coach José Mourinho has provided an explanation for his decision to haul Arda Güler off prematurely in the club’s latest outing.

This comes after the Turk conjured up another starring performance to build on what has been an impressive individual opening to the 2026/27 campaign.

Real Madrid were of course back in action on Friday, making the trip to Seville for a La Liga meeting with Real Betis. When all was said and done on an evening to forget, the visitors were condemned to the wrong side of a 1-0 result, marking their first defeat of the term.

The aforementioned Arda was in from the off at La Cartuja, and stood tall despite his side’s collective struggles. In fact, the youngster was handed the Man of the Match award following the full-time whistle.

Speaking to the media post-match, José Mourinho was therefore drawn on his decision to hook Arda from proceedings just beyond the hour mark. And Real Madrid’s headmaster went on to explain:

“I had to take Arda off because I felt he was in a situation where it was risky (yellow card).”

Conor Laird – GSFN