Carlo Ancelotti praises 18-year-old after debut

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti has given his thoughts on the long-awaited debut of Turkish young star Arda Guler for Real Madrid after the 18-year-old midfielder made his debut in Real Madrid’s 3-1 Copa Del Rey victory against Arandina.

The Los Blancos got the comfortable win despite the poor performance of Jude Bellingham as Brahim Diaz won a penalty and scored another goal of his own to help Real Madrid get past the lower division club.

However, the debutant Arda Guler was Madrid’s most biggest attacking threat in the first half. The 18-year-old forced Arandina goalkeeper Adrian Alvarez to save before he hit a free-kick off the post. He played close to an hour in the game before he was substituted, but he had done enough for Ancelotti to be impressed.

“He played for an hour at a good level. Obviously, he is not at the physical level. He showed his quality. He showed it in the first half. I said we have to be patient with him. He has personality, he has character. That’s good. He stands out for the quality he has with his feet, but character is also important to do well at Real Madrid.” Ancelloti said.

The Giants were closed out for the first 55 minutes of the game as the hosts contained their much bigger visitors until Joselu scored a penalty; Diaz’s goal happened almost immediately after, while Rodrygo scored in the first minute of stoppage time. Nacho’s own goal deep into stoppage time denied Kepa Arrizabalaga a clean sheet.

Real Madrid will face Atletico Madrid in their next fixture in the Spanish Super Cup on Wednesday, and the 18-year-old Turkish international will be available for selection for the fixture.

The Super Cup semifinal fixture will be played at the Al-Awwal Stadium in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu