Elche and Real Madrid drew 2-2 in the 13th round of LaLiga, in a match played at the “Manuel Martinez Velero” stadium, with the hosts managing to lead twice in the second half, but Jude Belligham, with a goal and an assist, managed to bring a point for “los blancos”. As a result of this draw, the team led by Eder Sarabia from the sidelines remained undefeated at home in the ongoing season in the Spanish championship, while the club trained by Xabi Alonso reached three consecutive matches without success in all competitions.
Real Madrid traveled to Elche’s stadium to play their third duel in a row away from their own stadium in all aspects, and the group from the “Bernabeu” was looking for a triumph after a series of two meetings ended without obtaining all the points at stake. Recently, in the domestic championship, the vice-champion of Spain had drawn with Rayo Vallecano in a goalless match, and, in the UEFA Champions League, at “Anfield”, Liverpool would defeat the “los blancos” band. In fact, the interval that included the last five confrontations that took place on all “fronts” brought three successes, one failure and one draw.
On the other hand, Elche was presenting itself at the time of this confrontation as a club that had not suffered any defeat in the matches that were organized in front of its own supporters in the current LaLiga season, and the most recent five official games in which the students trained by Eder Sarabia were involved ended with two draws, two failures and one triumph.
Against another “colossus” of Spanish football, Barcelona, away, the team at the “Manuel Martinez Velero” arena was unable to achieve a positive result, the Catalans prevailing with a two-goal difference. Before the starting whistle of this meeting, the situation in the general hierarchy positioned Real Madrid in second place, behind the “blaugrana” team, but with a match in hand and with a total of 31 points accumulated, unlike the position occupied in the middle of the ranking by Elche.
Eder Sarabia was unable to use Josan in this match, due to a muscle injury, while the Basque coach of the guests could not count on the services of Antonio Rudiger, Aurelien Tchouameni, Franco Mastantuono, Daniel Carvajal, David Alaba and Eder Militao, all absences being marked due to injuries of various types. Before the start of the current LaLiga season, the two clubs had most recently met in 2023, when “los blancos” would prevail with a final score of 4-0, and the last success of the team from the Spanish capital recorded on the field of Elche was in 2022, when Real Madrid won on a no-show score.
The first big goal opportunity belonged to the hosts, and, at the end of the first quarter of an hour, a lost ball in their own half by Alvaro Carreras was recovered by Elche’s players, with Rafa Mir finishing. The player who is on loan from Sevilla shot from the first, on foot, but Thibaut Courtois was on the post and kicked the ball wide. A few minutes later, a deep pass sent by Trent Alexander-Arnold found Arda Guler free, the Turkish footballer entering into combination with Fran Garcia, and then, the long-range shot sent by the player transferred from Fenerbache went over the opponent’s goal.
With fifteen minutes left in the first half of the match, Arda Guler passed diagonally to the top scorer in the Spanish competition, Kylian Mbappe, and after entering the box, the French striker’s lob attempt was intercepted by Inaki Pena, a goalkeeper who belongs to Barcelona. Two minutes later, a successful change of sides by Jude Bellingham allowed Trent Alexander-Arnold to throw the ball into the box, where the “ten” of the guests shot from a volley, but the Catalan goalkeeper of Elche opposed the goal.
The opening of the score was achieved by the home team, a few minutes later in the second half, when Aleix Febas passed to German Valera, and the first of the two mentioned was left alone with the opposing goalkeeper, finishing on foot, elegantly, past Thibaut Courtois and triggering joy in the stands. The equalizer was scored a few moments later, when Trent Alexander-Arnold’s cross was extended by Jude Bellingham to Dean Huijsen, and the ”los blancos” goalkeeper put the ball into the home team’s net.
With about six minutes left in regulation time, Alvaro Rodriguez, a player raised in the Real Madrid academy, took action on his own, passed two or three opponents, and from 20 meters he decided to shoot towards the goal defended by the Belgian goalkeeper of the guests. His execution took Thibaut Courtois by surprise, and Elche managed to regain the advantage on the scoreboard. However, the euphoria quickly evaporated, because Jude Bellingham was in the right place, at the right time, to fulfill a simple formality and score with an empty net, from the goal pass coming from the ice of Kylian Mbappe.
In extra time, the hosts were left out of the game after Victor Chust received a second yellow card at the end of a phase in which the Elche player pulled Kylian Mbappe’s shirt. However, the defense of the team trained by Eder Sarabia withstood the pressure and obtained a point against Real Madrid, climbing to 11th place in the overall standings with a total of 16 points, compared to “los blancos” who reduced the gap to the great rival, Barcelona, to just one length. In the next round of LaLiga, Elche will travel to the vicinity of the Spanish capital to “face off” with Getafe, while the club trained by Xabi Alonso will duel with Girona, away.