Shock Lineup From Alonso Produces Shock Result

Real Madrid failed to win for the third consecutive match and were held to a 2–2 draw with Elche in their first match since the international break in November.

Xabi Alonso fielded an exciting eleven on Sunday evening, bringing Vinicius Junior on for Rodrygo and giving chances to Fran Garcia and Dani Ceballos in midfield. The gamble was not successful for the Real Madrid boss, who saw his team produce a disappointing effort at the Estadio Martínez Valero until he made a second-half substitution.

Nevertheless, last-half goals from Dean Huijsen and Jude Bellingham were not enough to deny Elche a point. The draw now keeps Los Blancos just one point ahead of Barcelona in the La Liga standings.

*Rating provided by Photomob*

GK: Thibaut Courtois,6.0: Probably should have done better on Elche’s second goal, but their defense also disappointed.

CB: Raul Asensio,7.1: Continued to perform admirably despite injury problems, until he was completely outclassed by Alvaro Rodríguez for Elche’s second goal of the night.

CB: Dean Huijsen,8.0: Scored the opener for Real Madrid, but has yet to produce a perfect defensive performance without any mistakes.

CB: Alvaro Carreras,6.1: In the 18th minute Elche almost got the gift of a goal. Carreras looked confused on the left with Fran Garcia playing in such an advanced role.

RWB: Trent Alexander-Arnold,7.8: Provided fantastic service all night, but will be missed for the distraction of Fabas when it mattered most.

CM: Arda Guler,7.0: Struggled in a deeper role. Nevertheless, Güler managed to create two big chances for Real Madrid before being subbed off in the 64th minute.

CM: Dani Ceballos,7.2: Made a few mistakes, but had little impact on the game or the midfield. His best performance is behind him.

LWB:Fran Garcia,6.6: No objective accomplished. The Spaniard was put in almost impossible positions by his manager and made almost no contribution in attack.

AM: Jude Bellingham,8.8: A quiet night by his standards started with a goal and an assist that saved Los Blancos from complete embarrassment.

ST: Rodrigo,6.6: A rare chance to impress was missed. Although he did not miss a single pass in his 57 minutes on the field, Rodrigo was unable to make the most of his chances in the final third.

ST: Kylian Mbappé,8.7: Will will regret missing first-half chances, but Mbappé saved the game to send Los Blancos home with a point.

Subscription not used: Andrey Lunin (GK), Sergio Mestre (GK), Ferland Mendy, Andric, Gonzalo Garcia.

Elche (5-3-2)

Starting XI: Iñaki Peña; Hector Forte, Alvaro Núñez, David Affengruber, Victor Chust, German Valera; Grady Diangana, Mark Aguado, Alex Fabas; Rafa Mir, Andre Silva.

Used sub: Adria Pedrosa, Martim Neto, Alvaro Rodriguez, Leo Petrot, Federico Redondo.

Player of the match: Jude Bellingham

Real Madrid kicked off in Elche hoping to bounce back strongly from their poor performances against Liverpool and Rayo Vallecano before the November international break. Yet they picked up right where they left off, lacking invention on the ball, making unnecessary mistakes and not looking like the team that has started this season almost perfect.

In fact, the best chances came for the hosts in the opening 20 minutes at the Estadio Martínez Valero. Alvaro Carreras lost possession in his own half to Hector Forte, who found Rafa Mir just yards from goal. However, the forward had his effort blocked by a heroic save from Thibaut Courtois.

This moment was not much of an alarm for Real Madrid. Alonso’s men were indifferent at the back and displayed little creativity in the final third, not helped by Garcia’s head-scratching in attack.

After a sluggish start, Mbappé had two great chances to get his team on the scoresheet. The Frenchman was on target in the 30th minute after a sharp run down the right side, but a heavy final touch let him down. Three minutes later, Trent Alexander-Arnold played a sensational ball to the feet of his new teammate, who could only manage a weak volley past Iñaki Pena.

Real Madrid went without a goal in the final 233 minutes. Things went from bad to worse in the second half when Elche got their first breakthrough of the game. German Valera picked out Alex Fabas with a wonderful backheel pass in the 53rd minute, which the midfielder headed into the goal.

Alonso immediately sprang into action and brought Vinicius Junior, Federico Valverde and Eduardo Camavinga onto the field. Yet it was an unexpected goalscorer that finally got Los Blancos on the scoresheet. Jude Bellingham flicked the ball past Alexander-Arnold at the corner flag to Dean Huijsen, who got his first goal in the white shirt.

Elche regained the lead in the 84th minute through former Real Madrid player Álvaro Rodríguez. The striker beat Raul Asensio and left-footed a cross past Courtois and into the back of the net.

Then just three minutes later it was Bellingham’s turn to answer. A wild sequence that started with an Alexander-Arnold free kick ended with the England international scoring the equalizer for his team, thanks to great play from Mbappé to keep the ball in play.

Elche went down to 10 players in stoppage time, but there was not enough time for Real Madrid to find a winner.

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