Real Madrid defeated Getafe 1-0 on Wednesday thanks to a brilliant first-half goal from Arda Guler, maintaining their hopes of winning La Liga, but leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona with five games left.

The Turkey midfielder’s brilliant 20th-minute shot from the edge of the box gave Carlo Ancelotti’s team three valuable points after Barca increased their advantage with a 1-0 victory against Mallorca on Tuesday.

As revealed by StatMuse, Güler has now scored more goals for Real Madrid (10) than he did for Fenerbahçe (9), in fewer games.

Real Madrid dominated the Copa del Rey final on Saturday against rivals Barca, despite Ancelotti’s decision to rest a number of important players.

However, they missed many chances to increase their lead, which led to a tight finale to the match, with Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making two outstanding saves in extra time to secure their win.

They now sit in second place with 72 points, nine points clear of third-place Atletico Madrid, who play Rayo Vallecano on Thursday.

Ancelotti also chose to start Jude Bellingham, Rodrygo, Luka Modric, Antonio Ruediger, and Eduardo Camavinga on the bench because forward Kylian Mbappe was sidelined due to an ankle injury he suffered during their Champions League quarterfinal loss to Arsenal.

Madrid played well in spite of the adjustments, but after Guler’s first goal, they struggled to penetrate Getafe’s well-practiced five-man defense.

Getafe’s defense struggled with Vinicius Jr.’s movement down the left flank, and goalie David Soria twice denied him. In the 32nd minute, he also set up Endrick, an 18-year-old striker, but defender Djene heroically cleared the ball off the goal line.

After the interval, Real maintained their dominance as Soria made outstanding stops to block a powerful strike from Vinicius and a curling attempt from Brahim Diaz.

Getafe started to threaten on the counter as Real began to wane, and Mauro Arambarri wasted a great chance in the 72nd minute after Borja Mayoral set him up wonderfully, missing his close-range attempt.

Real was exposed to counterattacks as they pushed for a second goal in the closing seconds, and Courtois made two outstanding saves from Juanmi and Omar Alderete to keep Real ahead.

Real Madrid won back-to-back games in all competitions for the first time in a month, and Ancelotti will be hopeful his team can maintain the winning streak into the Copa del Rey final. (Toby Davis edited; Fernando Kallas reported.)