It was a night to remember at the Santiago Bernabéu, illuminated by a moment of pure brilliance from Arda Güler. The Turkish prodigy delivered a breathtaking finale, scoring from nearly 70 metres to cap a commanding victory for Real Madrid against Elche.

Before that moment of magic, however, the evening belonged to Federico Valverde. The Uruguayan midfielder dominated the heart of the pitch, dictating the tempo and driving his team forward. He played a key role in the opening goal and later doubled Madrid’s advantage with a thunderous strike into the top corner.

Real Madrid had taken the lead when Antonio Rüdiger reacted quickest to a rebound after an initial effort from Federico Valverde, finishing decisively to put the hosts in front. The third goal followed through Dean Huijsen, who calmly converted a cross delivered by academy graduate Yáñez, highlighting the growing influence of the club’s young talents.

The match also became a celebration of the club’s academy pipeline. No fewer than ten players who had developed through Real Madrid Castilla featured during the game.

Elche enjoyed spells of possession but struggled to translate it into genuine attacking threat. Their only consolation came after a costly mistake from Eduardo Camavinga, which ultimately resulted in an unfortunate own goal by Manuel Ángel.

2025-26, Spain - La Liga

Real - Elche 4:1 (2:0)
Goals: Rudiger, 39 (1:0); Valverde F., 45 (2:0); Huijsen, 66 (3:0); Moran, 85 (own goal) (3:1); Güler A., 89 (4:1)

Real: Courtois; Carvajal; García Fr.; Rudiger (Aguado D., 61); Huijsen; Camavinga; Tchouaméni; Diaz Br. (Moran, 63); Pitarch (Palacios, 63); Valverde F. (García G., 58); Vinícius Júnior (Güler A., 58)
Substitution: Güler A. (from 58); García G. (from 58); Aguado D. (from 61); Moran (from 63); Palacios (from 63)
Bench: Lunin Andriy; Mestre; Alexander-Arnold
Yellow Cards: Camavinga 55

Elche: Dituro; Pétrot L.; Affengruber (Bigas, 74); Chust; Traore A-r (Pedrosa, 23); Redondo (Aguado M., 64); Neto Mar. (Diangana, 74); Valera G.; Febas; Cepeda (Rafa Mir, 64); André Silva
Substitution: Pedrosa (from 23); Aguado M. (from 64); Rafa Mir (from 64); Bigas (from 74); Diangana (from 74)
Bench: Peña I.; Iturbe; Villar G.; Josan F.; Santiago; Tete Morente; Rodriguez Alvaro
Yellow Cards: Valera G. 62; Affengruber 66; Rafa Mir 88