Mourinho doubts Arda Güler’s role, explains why Espí stays benched

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·16 September 2026

Mourinho doubts Arda Güler’s role, explains why Espí stays benched

Real Madrid suffered more than expected, but ended up snatching a dramatic 2-3 win over Elche. Los Blancos had the match under control and held a two-goal lead, but once again lost intensity and allowed their opponents to level the score.

Amid the struggle, Carlos Espí stepped up once again, scoring in stoppage time to give all three points to José Mourinho’s side.

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After the match, the Portuguese coach spoke about two names who left very different impressions: Arda Güler, a standout for much of the game, and Espí, the striker who once again came off the bench to become the hero.

Mourinho: “Arda Güler is not indispensable”

Güler was one of the main figures of the first half. The Turkish player scored a spectacular free-kick goal and became one of Real Madrid’s main attacking outlets.

However, Mourinho made it clear that, despite his importance, no player has a guaranteed place in his team.

“No, he is not indispensable. Nobody is indispensable.”

The coach explained that he decided to substitute the Turkish player when he began to notice that Madrid were losing control of the match.

“When I make the first two changes, Bellingham and Brahim, I do it exactly because we are losing control.”

Mourinho felt that Güler had also started to lose intensity and chose to bring on fresh players to try to regain control of the game.

“Arda Güler, who played today in this position, which you can call a ‘10’, but in the end the position is the whole pitch, was also losing intensity.”

The decision ended up being significant, as Elche managed to come back from 0-2 down and make it 2-2.

Espí shows up again when Madrid need him most

While Güler was one of the main protagonists for much of the game, Carlos Espí once again showed that he has a special connection with decisive moments.

The striker came on in the closing stages and scored the 2-3 in stoppage time, repeating the impact he had already made on the opening matchday of LaLiga, when he also scored the winner against Espanyol.

Despite his decisive appearances, Mourinho continues to use the forward as a substitute and explained why.

“He’s doing well, he’s making an important contribution to the team.”

The main obstacle keeping Espí out of the starting lineup has a first and last name: Kylian Mbappé.

“He’s a boy with great motivation, and in front of him he has a player who is not a normal player.”

Mourinho believes that starting both of them together would also force the team to change its structure.

“Playing with both together is not easy, because then we don’t have wide players who are typical of a 4-4-2, and the team loses balance.”

Mourinho risked everything to avoid another draw

With the match level, the Portuguese coach decided to go for a much more attacking approach.

“With the changes I made at the end, I risked everything. We won, we could have lost, but you have to do it because a draw is no use.”

The gamble paid off thanks to Espí’s goal, although the result once again highlighted a concern for Los Blancos: the team dominated for much of the match, but lost control again in the second half.

Real Madrid now have five wins from six LaLiga matches, although Mourinho still has work to do to ensure his team maintain for the full 90 minutes the intensity they show at their best.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.