January 23, (THEWILL) – Elche almost pulled off the biggest upset of the La Liga season so far but league leaders Real Madrid snatched a 2-2 draw on Sunday thanks to a late Eder Militao header.
After ten minutes, Real had their first real chance. The chance came as a result of some wonderful movement between forwards Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior, but the Brazilian’s shot was brilliantly blocked by Edgar Badia, who then made a worldie save to deny Toni Kroos from range shortly after.
Benzema had a few more chances on goal, but his greatest opportunity came from a penalty kick. On the half-hour mark, Helibelton Palacios brought Vinicius down and conceded a penalty, but Benzema’s shot was weak and went over the crossbar.
Elche’s Lucas Boye headed home an improbable opening at the conclusion of the first half, leaving Real with much to do in the second 45 minutes.
Real were awarded another penalty five minutes into the second half for a foul on Eden Hazard, but the judgement was reversed following VAR consultation.
Real’s intensity dipped in the second half as Elche prepared to sit even deeper to preserve their advantage, and chances on goal were far less frequent than they had been in the first.
With 20 minutes remaining, Vinicius blew another golden Real opportunity. Hazard and Luka Modric combined well to get the Brazilian in on goal, but he surprisingly shot wide.
With 15 minutes remaining, Elche punished Real’s wastefulness once more. Pere Milla was found in the box by Boye, who hammered his effort past Thibaut Courtois to put the visitors one step closer to the season’s biggest shock.
Soon after, Casemiro hit the crossbar with a header, and Real were granted yet another penalty, this time for an evident handball. With Benzema out of the game, Modric came forward and found a way past Badia to halve the deficit.
Eder Militao leapt highest to head home in the second minute of stoppage time to salvage a point for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Madrid is now four points clear at the top of the table, and they have gone undefeated in their previous six games across all competitions. They play Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals a week from Wednesday.
Elche is still in 15th place, having gone undefeated in their last four league matches. After the international break, they will face Deportivo Alaves.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
