Real Madrid’s Arda Guler played 83 minutes and capped a solid team display in Turkey’s 1-0 win over Montenegro in their UEFA Nations League game at home on Friday night.
He did not score or assist Turkey’s goal in the second half, but he was involved in the build-up play, switching the ball to the left side of the field just moments before the goal was scored.
Guler played pretty close to goal and was heavily involved in terms of chance creation — taking six shots as well as registering a walloping four key passes and one dribble completed. He also had eight crosses — most of them were from corners — and attempted 40 passes with a completion rate of 92.5%.
Guler’s best chance of the night came when the ball hit the post after a long-range effort from Orkun Kökçü. It fell awkwardly for Guler, and the header was not taken well, resulting in a miss.
Guler also had five out of five long balls completed, taking a page out of the notebook of former teammate Toni Kroos. He did get booked, though, and had four fouls, and it wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that the only reason he was taken off was because Turkey did not want to risk him getting sent off. Guler did seem a bit rash with his tackling, and maybe that is something he would need to work on if playing in a deeper role is on the cards for him in the future.
Guler will now look to get some more game time when Turkey face Iceland on Monday.
