“The team fighting to win La Liga was facing the team fighting to stay in the league.”
Before the Match
Real Madrid lined up in a 4-4-2 formation:
- Courtois, García, Huijsen, Rüdiger, Carvajal, Camavinga, Tchouaméni, Pitarch, Valverde, Vinícius, Brahim Díaz
Real Madrid had won three of their last five matches and lost the other two. Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham, and Rodrygo were all unavailable due to injuries.
With an away match against Manchester City and a home derby against Atlético Madrid coming up, this was an easier fixture on paper for Real Madrid, but still a must-win game.
Elche CF played in a 4-2-3-1 formation:
- Dituro, Sangaré, Chust, Affengruber, Petrot, Redondo, Febas, Valera, Neto, Cepeda, Silva
Elche had not won any of their last five matches, losing three and drawing two. In fact, they were without a win in their last eleven games. Former Real Madrid player Álvaro Rodríguez faced his old club in this match.
First Half
Real Madrid started the game with clear dominance.
In the 7th minute, Elche came very close to scoring. A few minutes later, Aurélien Tchouaméni nearly found the net for Madrid.
Elche’s goalkeeper was repeatedly whistled at by the home fans for trying to waste time while restarting play.
In the 25th minute, Real Madrid appealed for a penalty, but the referee waved play on.
Federico Valverde looked in excellent form following his hat trick against Manchester City. Meanwhile, Elche players were committing a large number of fouls throughout the first half.
In the 39th minute, Antonio Rüdiger scored the opening goal for Real Madrid.
Just three minutes later, Tchouaméni came very close to scoring again but was fouled during the attack. The referee neither showed a card nor awarded a penalty, leading to loud boos from the crowd.
Real Madrid scored their second goal in the 45th minute through Fede Valverde.
There were six minutes of added time at the end of the first half.
Second Half
In the 48th minute, Brahim Díaz came very close to scoring Real Madrid’s third goal.
The third goal finally arrived in the 66th minute through Dean Huijsen. One of the Castilla players who entered in the second half contributed to the goal by providing the assist.
After a defensive mistake from Real Madrid, Elche found space on the pitch, and Manuel Ángel accidentally scored an own goal, giving Elche their first and only goal of the match.
Because Manuel Ángel is a Castilla player who came through Real Madrid’s academy, he could face criticism after the game, especially since Álvaro Arbeloa is known for giving Castilla players more opportunities than previous managers.
In the 89th minute, Arda Güler scored Real Madrid’s fourth goal with an extraordinary shot — his first goal of the season.
In the 94th minute, Elche nearly scored their second goal of the night.
Final score 4-1, Real Madrid.
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