This Sunday, Elche and Real Madrid faced off in a match that ended in a gripping 2-2 stalemate at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.
The scoring opened in the 52nd minute when Elche’s Aleix Febas found the net, stunning the visitors. Following this, Dean Huijsen equalized for Real Madrid in the 77th minute with a well-crafted goal. Eder Sarabia’s side regained the lead just two minutes later with a strike from Álvaro Rodríguez in the 81st minute. Yet, it was Jude Bellingham who dashed Elche’s hopes with a late equalizer in the 84th minute, ensuring the points were shared.
Aleix Febas ignited the fans with his impressive finish in the 52nd minute, curling the ball past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois into the bottom left corner after receiving a precise pass from Germán Valera. A remarkable goal that left Courtois with no chance!
Elche’s manager, Eder Sarabia, deployed a 4-4-2 formation with Iñaki Peña guarding the goal; Héctor Fort, David Affengruber, Víctor Chust, and Álvaro Núñez in the defense; Marc Aguado, Aleix Febas, Germán Valera, and Grady Diangana in midfield; with André Silva and Rafael Mir up front.
Conversely, Xabier Alonso Olano set up Real Madrid in a 5-3-2 formation, featuring Thibaut Courtois in goal; Álvaro Carreras, Raúl Asencio, Dean Huijsen, Fran García, and Trent Alexander-Arnold in defense; Dani Ceballos, Arda Güler, and Jude Bellingham in midfield; and Rodrygo alongside Kylian Mbappé in attack.
Referee Francisco Hernández Maeso took charge of the match proceedings.
Looking ahead, Elche will visit Getafe, while Real Madrid is scheduled to face Girona at the Estadio Municipal de Montilivi in their next outing.
After the match, Elche sits at 11th place on the table with 16 points, while Real Madrid remains at the top with 32 points.
Substitutions for Elche
65’ 2T – Héctor Fort replaced by Adriá Pedrosa; Grady Diangana replaced by Martim Neto
79’ 2T – André Silva replaced by Álvaro Rodríguez
82’ 2T – Germán Valera replaced by Léo Pétrot; Marc Aguado replaced by Federico Redondo
Bookable offenses for Elche:
11’ 2T David Affengruber (Unsporting Behavior), 22’ 2T Eder Sarabia (Unsporting Behavior), 22’ 2T Víctor Chust (Unsporting Behavior), and 43’ 2T Aleix Febas (Unsporting Behavior)
Sent off from Elche:
51’ 2T Víctor Chust (Red card for second yellow)
Substitutions for Real Madrid
56’ 2T – Rodrygo replaced by Vinicius Júnior; Fran García replaced by Federico Valverde
57’ 2T – Dani Ceballos replaced by Eduardo Camavinga
63’ 2T – Arda Güler replaced by Gonzalo García
Bookable offense for Real Madrid:
53’ 2T Kylian Mbappé (Unsporting Behavior)