Real Madrid came back from behind to avoid an imminent defeat against Elche for the second time in a week.
Real Madrid and Elche drew 2-2 in their La Liga game on Sunday. The Blancos dropped two points at Santiago Bernabeu but still maintained their lead on top of the table.
Another Late comeback!
Real Madrid came into the game on the back of their win against Elche in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. Elche were very close to winning that game as they went ahead in the extra time. However, Real Madrid managed to beat them with a late comeback.
A similar scenario played out on Sunday. Elche started off by surprising the hosts again as they took the lead three minutes before the interval. Despite Real Madrid dominating the possession, Elche managed to double their lead in the 76th minute.
But their efforts were not enough to decide the game. Following a corner kick from Luca Modric, the referee awarded the hosts a penalty for a handball by Pere Milla. Unlike Karim Benzema, who missed a penalty in the first half, Modric converted his spot-kick to make it 2-1 in the 82nd minute.
Real Madrid pushed hard to get the equalizer as their opponents looked more and more exhausted. They finally managed to escape the defeat through Eder Militao in the 92nd minute. The centre-back put a precise header past Edgar Badia as soon as he received Vinicius Junior’s cross at the far post.
Despite dropping two points, Real Madrid keep their four-point lead on top of the league table. Their closest rivals, Sevilla, also drew 2-2 in their last game before the international break.
On the other hand, Elche managed to remain unbeaten for the fourth consecutive game. However, they are still only five points away from the relegation zone.
After the international break, Real Madrid will play against Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals on February 3. Elche will host Alaves in La Liga two days later.
Player Ratings
Real Madrid: Courtois (5); Vazquez (6), Militao (7), Alaba (6), Mendy (7); Modric (7), Casemiro (8), Kroos (6); Hazard (6), Benzema (6), Junior (8).
Bench: Valverde (6), Isco (5), Jovic (6), Rodrygo (7).
Elche: Badia (7); Palacios (7), Verdu (7), Gonzalez (6), Mojica (5); Morente (6), Guti (7), Gumbau (6), Milla (6); Boye (8), Perez (6).
Bench: Josan (5), Fidel (7).
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