Real Madrid's Valverde keeps up scoring run in 4-1 win over Elche

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Federico Valverde kept up his scoring run by notching his fifth goal in three games to help Real Madrid beat Elche 4-1 in the Spanish league on Saturday, with Arda Güler adding a spectacular late goal from well inside his own half.

The Uruguay midfielder scored with a right-footed curling strike that he took from the edge of area to double Madrid’s lead just before halftime.

That came three days after Valverde’s memorable hat trick in a 3-0 win over Manchester City in the first game of their Champions League round-of-16 matchup. Prior to that, Valverde’s last-gasp goal earned a 2-1 win at Celta Vigo in the previous La Liga round.

The 27-year-old Valverde has been a key player for Madrid for several years now, with a reputation for being a workhorse in the midfield as well as providing a powerful long-distance strike from open play and free kicks.

But he has stepped up his scoring recently, scoring all seven of his goals this season since the turn of the year, and just when Madrid needed help in that department with Kylian Mbappé and Jude Bellingham sidelined with injuries.

“I am not surprised because I know what Federico Valverde is capable of,” Madrid forward Brahim Díaz said. “It’s an honor to have him as a teammate, I am sure if he keeps shooting he will score many more goals.”

The game against Elche also featured a memorable goal by Güler, who scored Madrid’s fourth goal in the 89th minute when he successfully lobbed a shot from more than 10 yards inside his team’s own half. Elche goalkeeper Matías Dituro could only watch as it sailed overhead and into his net.

The victory at the Santiago Bernabeu kept Madrid within one point of leader Barcelona before it hosts Sevilla on Sunday.

Antonio Rudiger opened the scoring in the 39th when he volleyed in a clearance resulting from a free kick by Valverde. Dean Huijsen made it 3-0 before Madrid’s youth player Manuel Ángel scored an own goal.

Madrid travels to England on Tuesday to play City in their second game with the 15-time European Cup winners eyeing a spot in the Champions League quarterfinals.

Madrid coach Álvaro Arbeloa said that Mbappé remains doubtful for the second leg of the City tie.

“We will give him a go tomorrow,” Arbeloa said, indicating that the striker would return to team training on Monday.

Mbappé hasn’t played since Feb. 21 because of a left knee problem that has been bothering him since December.

Atletico Madrid got an early goal from wingback Nahuel Molina and held on for a 1-0 win over 10-man Getafe to remain in a distant third place.

Getafe defender Abdel Abqar was sent off with a direct red card in the 55th for pinching the genitals of Atletico’s Alexander Sorloth. Abqar said that he didn’t intend to do so.

Also, last-place Real Oviedo kept alive its hopes of avoiding relegation by beating Valencia 1-0, while Girona beat Athletic Bilbao 3-0 at home.

AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer

Real Madrid's Arda Guler celebrates with Real Madrid's head coach Alvaro Arbeloa after scoring his side's fourth goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Elche CF, in Madrid, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Elche CF, in Madrid, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Elche CF, in Madrid, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Elche CF, in Madrid, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran's supreme leader said Thursday that the Islamic Republic will protect its “nuclear and missile capabilities” as a national asset, likely seeking to draw a hard line as U.S. President Donald Trump seeks a wider deal to cement the shaky ceasefire now holding in the war.

Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, speaking in a written statement read by a state television anchor as he has since taking over as Iran's supreme leader, struck a defiant tone, insisting the only place Americans belonged in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters."

However, his remarks come as Iran's oil industry has begun to be squeezed by a U.S. Navy blockade halting its oil tankers from getting out to sea. Meanwhile, benchmark Brent crude for June delivery reached as much as $126 a barrel in trading on Thursday as Iran maintains its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which a fifth of all crude oil and natural gas traded passes.

“By God’s help and power, the bright future of the Persian Gulf region will be a future without America, one serving the progress, comfort and prosperity of its people,” Khamenei said in the statement, read like all others since he reportedly was wounded in the Feb. 28 attack that killed his father, the 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

“We and our neighbors across the waters of the Persian Gulf and the (Gulf) of Oman share a common destiny. Foreigners who come from thousands of kilometers away to act with greed and malice there have no place in it — except at the bottom of its waters.”

With a fragile ceasefire in place, the U.S. and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait. The U.S blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store oil.

The strait’s closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.

A recent Iranian proposal would push negotiations on the country’s nuclear program to a later date. Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons. Iran long has maintained its program is peaceful, though it enriched uranium at near-weapons-grade levels of 60%.

Speaking to mark Persian Gulf Day in Iran, Khamenei's remarks signaled that nuclear issues and Iran's ballistic missile program wouldn't be traded away.

“Ninety million proud and honorable Iranians inside and outside the country regard all of Iran’s identity-based, spiritual, human, scientific, industrial and technological capacities — from nanotechnology and biotechnology to nuclear and missile capabilities — as national assets, and will protect them just as they protect the country’s waters, land and airspace,” Khamenei said.

A woman carries an Iranian flag and a poster of the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei during a state-organised rally in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 29, 2026, celebrating the birthday of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Muslims' Imam, and supporting Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

A police officer stands guard in front of a banner with portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, and late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a state-organised rally celebrating the birthday of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Muslims' Imam, and supporting the supreme leader, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Girls sing a song as they show the movement of missiles with their hands next to the portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, center, and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, in a state-organised rally celebrating the birthday of Imam Reza, the 8th Shiite Muslims' Imam, and supporting the supreme leader, in Tehran, Iran, Wednesday, April 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)