Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium was the place where Real Madrid visited Elche for the last La Liga match of 2020. We have player ratings.
Real Madrid needed to get a new victory in a complicated visit against Elche in the last La Liga match of 2020. Zinedine Zidane decided to put out a vintage starting lineup with Marcelo coming back from a long time warming up the bench. During the first half, the decision almost paid off after the Brazilian struck the bar with a wonderful volley. After this moment, the Brazilian lowered his level of performance gradually.
Before the break, Marco Asensio struck the bar again with another fantastic long-range shot but Luka Modric was there to head the ball inside. This was the initial advantage of a Real Madrid side that played a lot better during the first half compared to the second half. Elche’s players were set for an impressive reaction that almost gave them the victory.
Carvajal almost lost the match for Real Madrid.
Antonio Carvajal almost cost Real Madrid the game with several mistakes he made over the course of the second half. First, he committed a penalty that effectively gave Elche the equalizer after Fidel beat Courtois from the spot. Real Madrid suffered a number of times against a brave Elche that had the winner repeatedly but couldn’t get it. Near the end of the final whistle, Carvajal committed another foul with 20 seconds left on the added time.
Thibaut Courtois saved the point after making a fantastic save during the set-piece. This result still leaves Los Blancos in second place with 33 points behind Atletico Madrid. Zidane finally got Eden Hazard back from his injury but he played only for a few minutes with no more incidents reported.
Player ratings
Elche: Badia (7), Barragan (6), Sanchez (6), Verdu (7), Sanchez (6), Marcone (8), Fidel (7), Rodriguez (6), Guti (6), Rigoni (6), Boye (7).
Bench: Morente (7), Josan (7), Guido (6).
Real Madrid: Courtois (6), Marcelo (6), Ramos (7), Varane (6), Carvajal (5), Casemiro (7), Modric (7), Kroos (7), Asensio (6), Lucas (6), Benzema (6).
Bench: Hazard (5), Valverde (5), Vinicius (5).
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