STRIKING ARDA GULER COMMENT FROM MOURINHO AFTER RAYO VICTORY

"Is Real Madrid better when Arda Guler is on the pitch? Arda does everything when he is on the pitch. But when you look at the bench, there are a lot of quality players and they can't all play all the time. I know people wonder why Arda doesn't start every game. Arda Guler is so, so good. He has so much quality, he creates so many chances, he stabilized the team tonight, and had an incredible impact. Is Real Madrid better with him? YES, of course. BUT, I promise you, 100%, that if Arda started tonight and Diomandé was on the bench, your FIRST question would've been 'Why didn't Diomande start?'. Why did I sub in Cucurella instead of Espi, Brahim, Endrick? Because I want to win, easy. With 10 minutes left, it's better to close the door. Vini is in assist-mode, soon he will activate goalscorer-mode. Did I start Diomandé because of pressure? I'm a little too old to be pressured. Was I angry on the bench? No, I'm happy. You can't build a perfect team in 3 days. We ended the game in 45 minutes tonight. Just look at Bellingham in the last 10 minutes, he was totally exhausted."

Following Real Madrid's dominant 4-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano in La Liga, manager Jose Mourinho's post-match press conference made a massive impact. The Portuguese coach praised Turkish national player Arda Güler's performance, stating that he stabilized the team and created an incredible effect after coming on. Responding to criticisms about why the star player doesn't always start, Mourinho pointed out the depth and quality of the squad. Emphasizing that his choice to bring on Cucurella instead of attacking players in the final minutes was purely about protecting the lead and wrapping up the game, the experienced manager also drew attention to the team's physical condition. Noting that players like Bellingham were completely exhausted by the end of the match due to the high effort in the first half, Mourinho reminded everyone that they are taking it step-by-step to build a perfect team. While some fans on social media supported this "little by little" philosophy, others joined the debate by stating that there is no patience at Real Madrid and flawless gameplay is expected immediately.

Real Madrid 4 - 1 Rayo Vallecano ✅

IMAGE: LA RAZÓN