Madrid – Resurgent Real Madrid produced a dominant display at the Santiago Bernabéu on Saturday night, thrashing Elche 4-1 in La Liga to close the gap on league leaders Barcelona to just one point.
Los Blancos took control in the first half with two stunning goals.
Antonio Rüdiger opened the scoring in the 38th minute with a powerful volley from a set-piece situation after chaos in the box.
On-form Federico Valverde doubled the lead in the 44th minute, curling a magnificent right-footed strike from the edge of the area into the top corner.
The Uruguayan midfielder continued his red-hot form, marking his fifth goal in his last three appearances across all competitions.
After the break, young defender Dean Huijsen added a third in the 66th minute with a well-directed header from an assist by Yáñez, putting the game firmly out of reach at 3-0.
Elche pulled one back in the 85th minute through Manuel Ángel , briefly making it 3-1.
However, the highlight of the night—and one of the most spectacular goals of the La Liga season—came in the 89th minute from substitute Arda Güler.
The Turkish midfielder received the ball deep in his own half, spotted Elche goalkeeper Matías Dituro off his line, and unleashed an audacious lob from approximately 68 metres.
The ball sailed high over the despairing keeper, bounced once, and nestled into the net to seal the 4-1 victory.
The strike tied the record for the longest goal in La Liga history, matching a feat from 2004, and was hailed as a potential Puskás Award contender.
It marked a moment of pure magic from the 21-year-old, who celebrated wildly as the Bernabéu erupted.
Real Madrid’s win keeps the title race alive, with coach Álvaro Arbeloa’s side building on recent momentum in both domestic and European competitions.
Valverde’s brace of brilliant efforts in recent games and Güler’s moment of genius underscored the blend of power and flair in the current squad.
*This article was compiled with the assistance of AI tool Grok on X
