Came on and changed the picture: Guler puts out the fire at Real Madrid in the Bernabeu
Real Madrid rediscovered their balance on Saturday evening, sweeping past Rayo Vallecano 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in the fifth round of the Spanish league. Three goals up at half-time, they then dropped off noticeably after the break, handing their opponents the chance to pull one back.
The comfortable start should have restored confidence among players and supporters alike. Instead, that second-half slump exposed a problem that could prove fundamental across the season, until Arda Guler stepped in to calm the team and see out the win.
Early superiority came courtesy of fatal defensive errors from Rayo. Real won a penalty and Kylian Mbappe tucked it away for the first goal. Vinicius then pounced on another Lejeune mistake, racing clear before the move ended with a second that stretched the hosts' lead.
Pressure kept coming. Vinicius Junior produced one of his best spells of the match, dazzling with his dribbling and chance creation before teeing up the third for Jude Bellingham, who thumped it home from outside the box. The Whites went in at the interval three goals to the good.
Rayo Vallecano returned a different side. They began to genuinely threaten Thibaut Courtois, who came to the rescue on more than one occasion, and one Pedro Diaz effort clattered the post before Sergio Camello reduced the arrears with a superb strike that rattled the Real Madrid defence.
Suddenly the hosts wilted. Fatigue crept in, particularly through midfield, and Rayo's relentless pressure forced Real to sit deep and hit on the counter. The whistles of disapproval returned to the Bernabeu stands.
With the game slipping away, Jose Mourinho turned to his bench for a spark. He sent on Aurelien Tchouameni, then introduced Arda Guler, the turning point of the afternoon.
Guler transformed the contest the moment he arrived. He demanded the ball and stamped his presence on the playmaking, passing and shooting, restoring the composure Real had been lacking, before carving out a decisive chance for Kylian Mbappe, who added the fourth to settle it in favour of the Whites.
That intervention silenced the whistles and steered Real Madrid back to winning ways. The match also laid bare a familiar truth: this team can produce fierce football, yet still needs to fix its sharp decline whenever it loses its grip on a game.
