Real Madrid showed strong performance against Manchester City in the first leg of the Champions League Round of 16. Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, midfielder Federico Valverde, and defender Antonio Rudiger played key roles. Rudiger successfully contained Erling Haaland throughout the match.
According to MARCA, Real Madrid plans to give Courtois, Valverde, Rudiger, Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Aurelien Tchouameni a break during their upcoming match against Elche in La Liga this Saturday night.
Despite this, Real Madrid won’t take Elche lightly. Manager Alvaro Arbeloa is likely to rest these five players, giving chances to backup goalkeeper Andriy Lunin, veteran right back Dani Carvajal, Fran Garcia, striker Gonzalo Garcia, and young midfielder Manuel Angel.
Fans will particularly look forward to seeing more of Angel. Like Thiago Pitarch, he has significant potential and has started to earn more playing time under Arbeloa, even coming off the bench to help secure the win against Manchester City.