Real Madrid twice came from behind to draw level in Elche, but ultimately could not manage more than a draw. This means that Los Blancos remain without a win in their third competitive game in a row.
In Elche, who had recently missed out on a late victory against San Sebastian (1-1) due to a penalty, Real coach Xabi Alonso decided to make four changes to the starting lineup: Alexander-Arnold, Dani Ceballos, Fran Garcia, and Rodrygo replaced Fede Valverde, Camavinga, Brahim Diaz, and Vinicius Junior on the bench.
The Royals had something to prove after losing 1-0 in Liverpool and drawing 0-0 with Rayo Vallecano, and as expected, they started the game in dominant fashion. After an initial attempt by Rodrygo (4th minute), Mbappé’s first-time shot went just wide of the far post (11th minute).
Courtois saves for Real – draw at half-time
Six minutes later, however, the first real danger came at the other end when Rafa Mir suddenly found himself one-on-one with Courtois after a mistake by Carreras. The striker failed to beat the Real keeper in the one-on-one situation, and the keeper had plenty more to do as the first half progressed.
This was the case in the 38th minute, when he denied former Leipzig player Silva the last notable chance before the break. With Mbappé having also missed two further opportunities (30th/33rd), the score at half-time was a fair 1-1 draw in Elche.
Febas gives the home side something to cheer about
The game remained largely evenly balanced after the restart. The first chance fell to Rodrygo, whose right-footed shot was saved by Inaki Pena, who was alert to prevent it from going into the near corner (47′).
Febas was more precise than the Brazilian shortly afterwards, getting on the ball on the left side of the box after a nice one-two with Valera. The midfielder calmly slotted the ball past Courtois, before it bounced off the inside post and over the line (53′). It was the goalscorer’s first goal of the season.
Huijsen scores his first goal for Real
Alonso reacted to the deficit by bringing on Camavinga, Vinicius Junior, and Fede Valverde (57′). However, the immediate effect of this triple substitution was not felt – Real waited in vain for a spark for a long time and often made the wrong decisions in the final third.
Nevertheless, the equalizer was in the air – and it came in the 78th minute: After a pass from Bellingham, Huijsen, who scored for the first time in a Real jersey, pushed the ball over the line from close range.
Turbulent final phase in Elche
However, the 1-1 score was short-lived, as six minutes later, substitute Alvaro struck for Elche. From about 17 meters out, the 21-year-old sank the ball into the bottom left corner of the net. But the Madrid team responded once again when Bellingham scored the equalizer shortly thereafter (87′). The fact that Vinicius Junior hit Elche keeper Inaki Pena in the nose with his knee in the build-up to the goal is likely to cause some controversy in the aftermath.
But that wasn’t all, as the eight minutes of added time provided two more highlights: After Real substitute Gonzalo narrowly missed a cross from Vinicius Junior (90+4), Elche center back Victor was shown a second yellow card (90+6). Ultimately, the referee ended an extremely entertaining game on Sunday evening.
For Madrid, whose lead over Barcelona has shrunk to one point, the action continues on Wednesday in the Champions League with an away game at Olympiacos Piraeus (9 p.m.). Elche will be away at Getafe in La Liga on Friday (9 p.m.) after their respectable performance on Friday.
