As disappointing as the 2024/25 season has been so far for Real Madrid fans, the club has quietly been collecting some important silver linings with each difficult defeat, including this latest one against Barcelona in the Copa del Rey Final.
Thanks to a second half surge, Real Madrid were at least respectable in the third Clasico of the season, even leading 2-1 at one point before ultimately succumbing to Barcelona 3-2 in extra time.
That go-ahead second goal was the result of a corner kick, following Kylian Mbappe's wonderful free kick to open the scoring. Mbappe's free kick could be a sign of things to come for the Frenchman as the team's solution on free kicks, but the corner is just as interesting.
Arda Guler was a bright spot against Barcelona
For two weeks in a row, Arda Guler has now been the biggest positive for Real Madrid, shining as a regista and scoring the winner against Getafe, and he was brilliant again in a deep-lying role as a substitute vs. Barcelona.
It was Guler who delivered the inch-perfect assist on the corner for Aurelien Tchouameni, perfectly lofting the ball into the six-yard box in a way that the French defensive midfielder could not do anything else other than deposit the ball into the back of the net. Guler, minutes earlier, had another great corner that Tchouameni could not convert.
Whenever he has taken corners, Guler has shown superior technical ability and consistency of execution of his deliveries in comparison to his teammates. Toni Kroos and Luka Modric have been decent corner takers over the years for Real Madrid, but they were surprisingly not elite at this. Real Madrid haven't had a truly elite corner taker since David Beckham, and Guler has the technical and mental attributes to be that guy.
Real Madrid needed better corners
You can't discount how much corners can help Real Madrid. They have a few big guys who can score goals from corners like Antonio Rudiger, Tchouameni, and a healthy Eder Militao. Jude Bellingham and Mbappe can also be corner threats, especially Jude.
Now, they have someone in Guler who can consistently put the ball on a silver platter and actually give these guys enough chances to have a crack at goal. With how often Real Madrid attack, shoot, and win corners, that could be a difference in two or three key passes per game just from corners and free kicks in similar positions.
Guler has something special about him that the other youngsters - and even the others - at Real Madrid don't. He sees the game differently and his touches of the ball are even of a higher class. Don't neglect the impact he can have on corners and other set pieces, too, because this is an additional source of chance creation Real Madrid haven't been getting right for years.