Real Madrid News
Real Madrid superstar is the best in 1v1 situations, says Barcelona’s Ronald Araujo
As Real Madrid prepare to face Barcelona for the second time this month, Blaugrana defender Ronald Araujo has admitted that Vinicius Jr. is currently the number one player when it comes to one-on-one situations.
Both Vinicius and Araujo have produced scintillating displays over the past few games for their teams, but the latter has had the upper hand in their direct duels.
The most recent encounter was the Copa del Rey semi-final clash where the Uruguayan came out on top in the contest.
Interestingly enough, every time Araujo has been used as a right-back against Real Madrid by Xavi, Barcelona have won the match. In fact, it must be noted that in two of those three matches, Madrid have failed to score a goal.
During the Supercopa de Espana final in January this year, Barcelona defeated Madrid 3-1 with goals coming from Gavi, Pedri and Robert Lewandowski. Throughout the game, Araujo proved to be a total menace to Vinicius.
In March 2022, Barcelona beat Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. Although the defeat did not mean anything for Carlo Ancelotti’s men as they were already confirmed as the champions of the league, the win was important for Barcelona in their Champions League qualification process.
For now, the two teams are gearing up for the upcoming El Clasico, to be played on Sunday at Camp Nou. Speaking ahead of the game, Araujo had nothing but kind words for Vinicius.
“For me today, Vinicius is number one in one-on-one. He is a very good player, very unbalancing. It’s difficult, obviously. But he worked to be able to give his best in matches like this. I’m glad things are going well,” the defender told ESPN (h/t Diario AS).
The 24-year-old also spoke about the 4-0 win last season. Interestingly, Araujo was not only successful in minimizing Vinicius’ threat, but he ended up on the scoresheet.
“It was very important for us because we were coming from a tough time, and after losing several games with Madrid. I think that game was like turning that around a bit, saying ‘here we are, we’re coming back’,” he said.
The current edition of the Real Madrid squad is full of young talents, who have shown remarkable potential in recent years.
Arda Guler is among the young players looking to make a mark in European football in the years to come.
The young Turk joined Real Madrid earlier this summer, rejecting many other European giants in the process.
Toni Kroos mentoring Guler at Real Madrid
Guler has not enjoyed the best of starts to his life at Santiago Bernabeu, as he is spending a brief time on the sidelines due to an injury.
However, Guler has not stopped working on his characteristics, as he looks to kickstart his Real Madrid career on a positive note.
To that end, the former Fenerbahce starlet is receiving some key support from one of Real Madrid’s midfield pillars in the form of Toni Kroos.
This is according to MARCA, which suggests that the German international is mentoring Guler in his early days at Santiago Bernabeu.
Kroos: huge ‘sponsor’ of Guler
The report highlights how Toni Kroos is a huge admirer of Arda Guler. The German had even heaped praise on the youngster from Turkey when he joined the club earlier in the summer.
Guler, therefore, is closely training with Kroos, whose years of experience, composure, and knowledge of football, could help the youngster grow at Santiago Bernabeu.
This fits in well with Carlo Ancelotti’s vision at Real Madrid, as the Italian boss wants youngsters to have room to grow, especially with guidance from some of the older guards in the team.
It is one of the key reasons Real Madrid wanted to stick to Kroos and Luka Modric, despite bringing in Arda Guler and Jude Bellingham in the summer.
Guler, therefore, has the stage set for him to start his Real Madrid career on a strong note. After impressing in training, the next step for the youngster is to make a promising debut, which is just around the corner.
