Real Madrid failed to win for the third match in a row, as they drew an entertaining encounter against Elche at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero.
Xabi Alonso gave minutes to players who usually don’t start, such as Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Ceballos and Rodrygo Goes, and the first of them even came close to providing an assist early in the match. He curled a wonderful ball towards Kylian Mbappé, but with only Iñaki Peña in front of him, the Frenchman struck straight at the goalkeeper on loan from Barcelona.
Mbappé missed another big chance later in the first half, just as Rafa Mir did, whose effort was stopped by Thibaut Courtois after a mistake from Alvaro Carreras. However, this mattered little for Elche, who took the lead eight minutes into the second half, when former La Fabrica player Aleix Febas scored from close range after a beautifully constructed move.
However, 12 minutes before the end of normal time, Real Madrid found the equaliser. Trent’s corner kick fell to Dean Huijsen, who scored with a close-range volley to make it 1-1. But the deadlock didn’t last long, because another former La Fabrica talent struck — this time it was Alvaro Rodriguez.
Fortunately for Real Madrid, they managed to equalise again a few minutes later, and it was Jude Bellingham who continued his excellent form with another goal. Kylian Mbappé kept the ball in play after a free-kick, allowing the Englishman to score from close range.
Real Madrid pushed hard for a winning goal, but even though Victor Chust received a second yellow card for Elche, they were unable to find the decisive strike. As a result, this is now the third consecutive match without a win for Los Blancos, following the loss to Liverpool and the draw with Rayo Vallecano before the international break. However, they have returned to the top of La Liga, albeit with only one point more than Barcelona.
