ELCHE, SPAIN – Real Madrid stumbled to a shocking 2-2 draw against newly promoted Elche on Sunday night, relinquishing the La Liga lead to Barcelona. The result marks Real Madrid’s third consecutive match without a win and a notable setback in their title defense.
The match at the Martínez Valero stadium featured a trio of Elche players – Álvaro Rodriguez,Victor Chust,and Aleix Febas – facing their former club,having all progressed through Real Madrid’s youth system,La Fábrica. While Chust and Rodríguez each made three and ten appearances respectively for Real Madrid’s first team, Febas’ career stalled at the Castilla level. Despite the personal connection for these players, Elche managed to secure a point against a weakened but still star-studded Real Madrid side.
Real Madrid was without several key players due to injury. Daniel Carvajal and Franco Mastantuono remained unfit, while Eder Militão and David Alaba sustained injuries during the international break – Alaba didn’t even feature for Austria. Aurélien Tchouaméni and Antonio Rüdiger were back in training but not deemed fit enough to play, though Kylian Mbappé, Eduardo Camavinga, and Dean Huijsen were available after returning early from their national teams due to injury concerns.
Barcelona currently tops the La Liga table following a 4-0 victory over Athletic Club. Real Madrid’s next challenge will be to regain their form and the league lead as they continue a stretch of seven consecutive away games. The match was followed live by fans on the REAL TOTAL live ticker and on DAZN.
