Real Madrid survive Elche scare before Atletico derby

Real Madrid needed a stoppage-time winner from substitute Carlos Espe to escape with a 3-2 victory at Elche on Tuesday, a result that raised fresh concerns about their form before Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid.

The Spanish champions appeared to be heading for a comfortable win after taking a two-goal lead, but a second-half collapse allowed the hosts to level before Espe restored Real Madrid’s advantage at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero in the sixth round of La Liga.

The victory moved Real Madrid up to second place with 15 points, level on goal difference with leaders Barcelona. Barcelona can extend their advantage by beating Racing Santander on Wednesday.

It was Real Madrid’s fifth win of the season, alongside one defeat, which came away to Real Betis in the fourth round. Elche, meanwhile, remain bottom with two points.

Despite the win, Real Madrid’s away record continues to cause concern. Before the visit to Elche, they had failed to win five of their previous nine La Liga matches on the road, losing four – including the defeat by Real Betis – and drawing one. They only narrowly avoided adding another loss on Tuesday.

That concern will be heightened by their next away fixture, against city rivals Atletico Madrid at the Metropolitano rather than at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real Madrid’s marked drop in performance after half-time against Elche also provided a warning.

Jose Mourinho made several changes to his starting line-up. Jude Bellingham was left out in favour of Arda Guler, while Aurelien Tchouameni returned to midfield after a lengthy absence, replacing Bernardo Silva. Denzel Dumfries was also rested after regularly operating at right-back.

Mourinho then took off Vinicius Junior and Arda Guler after Real Madrid moved ahead in the second half, apparently with the derby in mind. However, those decisions left his side vulnerable and Elche drew level late on before Espe came to the rescue.

Real Madrid began strongly and created several opportunities in the opening stages, but wasteful finishing prevented them from scoring sooner. They finally went ahead in the 26th minute when Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro turned Arda Guler’s direct free-kick into his own net. The effort struck the right post before hitting the goalkeeper and crossing the line.

Seven minutes later, Kylian Mbappe doubled the visitors’ lead by converting a low cross from new signing Yan Diomande, providing the Ivorian with his first goal contribution for the club.

Mbappe appeared to have scored again four minutes before half-time, but referee Gil Manzano ruled the goal out for offside after Fede Valverde’s pass split the Elche defence.

Elche reduced the deficit in the 71st minute when Abiel Osorio headed Lucas Cepeda’s cross into the net unchallenged. Fernando Nino then equalised in the 82nd minute, sending a shot into the far corner beyond Thibaut Courtois.

With the match seemingly destined to finish level, Espe struck in added time after Mbappe supplied a precise low pass.

The young Spanish forward had also rescued Real Madrid in the opening-round win over Espanyol, coming on for the final 10 minutes with the score at 1-1 before scoring the decisive goal.