Madrid –
Real Madrid made a brilliant comeback against Elche. Karim Benzema scored in injury time which made El Real win 2-1.
In the match which was held at Alfredo Di Stefano Stadium, Saturday (13/3/2021), the two teams played a goalless draw in the first half. Dani Carvo put Elche ahead with a goal in the 61st minute.
However, Madrid got up and Benzema scored two goals in the last 20 minutes, one of them in the 91st minute, to bring Madrid to the three points. Madrid temporarily rose to second place in the standings with 57 points from 27 matches, five points from Atletico Madrid at the top.
Elche is still in 17th place with 24 points.
The course of the match Real Madrid Vs Elche
Real Madrid returns to play Sergio Ramos, who has been sidelined since mid-January. Ramos has recovered from a knee injury and is paired with Raphael Varane.
Relying on Karim Benzema and Vincius Junior in the attack line, Madrid dominated by creating 10 attempts during the first half. However, neither was a dangerous challenge against Elche.
Elche’s back line played compact enough to reduce attacks by the host. Madrid’s best chance came in the 29th minute.
Isco gets the ball in front of the penalty box and releases a hard kick which still leads to Edgar Badia’s arms. Madrid threatened Elche’s goal again in the 36th minute after Benzema got a tug from Vinicius, but the ball went wide.
Until halftime, the score 0-0 remained. Entering the second half, Elche actually dared to come out to attack at the beginning and trouble Madrid.
In the 59th minute, Guido Carillo unleashed a shot which forced Thibaut Courtois off the ball and afterwards was cleared by the home defense.
Elche stunned Madrid in the 61st minute when Corner Tete Morente headed for the penalty area and Dani Calvo, beat Raphael Varane, first before heading the ball into Courtois’ net.
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Elche breaking into the Real Madrid goal Photo: Getty Images / Denis Doyle– |
After conceding, Madrid immediately entered Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Rodrygo to sharpen the attack line. Madrid’s efforts met with results when the score finished 1-1 in the 73rd minute.
There is a short corner taken by Madrid and the ball is passed to Modric who immediately crosses over. At the far post was Benzema who successfully headed him into the corner of the net.
 Karim Benzema leveled the score 1-1 Photo: Getty Images / Denis Doyle– |
Madrid are increasingly eager to find additional goals and enter Eden Hazard to provide refreshment. However, Hazard’s presence still did not make a difference because Madrid were still having trouble scoring goals.
But, a miracle came for Madrid in the first minute of injury time. From the right, a cross was sent to the far post and thrown out by Elche’s rearguard but fell at the feet of Benzema.
Benzema then played a 1-2 pass with Rodrygo before unleashing a left-footed volley, which slammed the ball into the corner of the net.
Until the match Real Madrid vs Elche over, Madrid still won with a score of 2-1.
Line-up of players
Real Madrid: Thibaut Courtois; Nacho, Raphael Varane, Sergio Ramos (Rodrygo 62 ‘), Ferland Mendy; Federico Valverde (Toni Kroos 62 ‘), Casemiro; Lucas Vazquez, Isco (Luka Modric 62 ‘), Vinicius Junior (Eden Hazard 75’); Karim Benzema.
Elche: Edgar Badia; Antonio Barragan (Cifuentes 37 ‘), Dani Calvo, Gonzalo Verdu, Johan Mojica; Fide (Josema 87 ‘), Raul Guti (Diego Gonzalez 87’), Ivan Marcone, Tete Morente (Josan Ferrandez 75 ‘); Guido Carrillo, Lucas Boye (Omenuke Mfulu 73 ‘).
(mrp / then)
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