Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium was the place where Real Madrid received a visit from Elche in the Spanish La Liga. We got the player ratings.
Real Madrid went back to winning ways against Elche this evening but they nearly bottled another chance to keep fighting for La Liga. Zinedine Zidane proved once again that he can’t rest key players such as Toni Kroos or Luka Modric. He decided to give Isco and Vinicius a chance to redeem themselves. However, neither of them was able to produce an acceptable performance against Elche.
The modest La Liga squad held well until the second half without allowing a single goal. They even scored the opener through a header from Calvo during a corner kick. Zidane quickly realized he needed to make a profound modification and immediately gave Kroos, Modric, and Rodrygo their chance. His gamble paid off big time as the Croatian midfielder set Karim Benzema up for the equalizer. But the best was reserved for the very last minute of the game.
Hazard returns and Benzema seals the win.
As part of the good news for Real Madrid, Sergio Ramos started inside a lineup today for the first time since the start of 2021. Eden Hazard also returned from his most recent injury, he came on the pitch to replace Vinicius. But in the end, the reliable man is always Karim Benzema. As we thought Real Madrid would lose two points against Elche, the French striker appeared at the last minute.
He combined perfectly with Rodrygo and released a beautiful volley for the winner. With these three points that Karim gave his squad, Los Blancos take back the second spot from Barcelona. Atletico is still five points ahead with 62 but Real Madrid keeps getting closer. La Liga is more exciting than ever before this season.
Player ratings
Real Madrid: Courtois (7), Ramos (7), Nacho (6), Varane (6), Mendy (4), Isco (3), Casemiro (7), Valverde (6), Vinicius (5), Lucas (6), Benzema (8).
Bench: Rodrygo (8), Modric (8), Kroos (7), Hazard (6).
Elche: Badia (5), Barragan (5), Mojica (5), Verdu (6), Calvo (7), Marcone (6), Fidel (6), Guti (5), Carrillo (6), Boye (6), Morente (7).
Bench: Cifuentes (6), Mfulu (5), Fernandez (5).
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