Elche - Real Madrid summary: score, goals, highlights, LaLiga Santander 2022/23
Elche vs Real Madrid: how it happened
Elche 0-3 Real Madrid: headlines & match report
- 90' GOAL Asensio volleys home from close range
- 75' GOAL Benzema finishes off in style
- 62' VAR cancels out Benzema goal (Benzema offside in build-up)
- 26' VAR cancels out Alaba goal (Benzema offside in build-up)
- 12' GOAL Valverde puts Madrid in front with a cracking strike
- 5' VAR cancels out Benzema opener (Vini offside in build-up)
Match report
Federico Valverde, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio scored to give Real Madrid a comfortable 3-0 win at bottom side Elche in LaLiga on Wednesday and the leaders also had three goals disallowed by VAR for offside in the build-ups.
In-form Valverde gave Real the lead in the 11th minute with a brilliant technical strike from the edge of the area. The champions dominated the game throughout and had several chances other than the three efforts ruled out, one by David Alaba and two from Benzema.
Benzema extended Real's lead in the 75th minute after neat interplay with Rodrygo, who assisted the Ballon D'Or winner with a clever back-heel pass.
Substitute Asensio added the third one minute from time, firing home a close-range finish from Rodrygo’s cross.
Real Madrid top the standings with 28 points, six ahead second-placed Barcelona who have a game in hand and host Villarreal on Thursday.
Real Madrid are la leche in Elche
After VAR's three interventions it could have been a frustrating night for the capital side, but in the end they finished things of in style.
Peep, peep, peeeep!! It's game over, three expected points to Madrid.
Job done but less comfortable than it could have been.
Four minutes to be added.
GOAL!! Asensio finishes it off
Another well worked goal, down the inside left channel, Rodrygo dinks it into the centre, Asensio leaps and volleys home with lovely control.
Another Elche chance, as some nice interplay allows Ponce to latch onto a bouncer which he proceeds to fire way way over the bar. It's been a positive second half from the hosts, relatively.
Although Elche continue to press -- it's been an encouraging performance from the strugglers -- Madrid have that knowing swagger in their play and are now just playing out the clock.
There was always the possibility at 0-1 that a shock was on the cards.
Right now I'd put the house on the three points heading back to the capital.
GOAL!!! Benzema this time!
A lovely one-two with Rodrygo and Mr Ballon d'Or slots home. Class from a class player and well deserved.
Benzema is starting to drop a little deeper to spark more attacks to finally put this game to bed. Tchouameni, who came on for Modric, does brilliantly to hold off two challenges and lays it on a plate for the overlapping Carvajal to slide in a cross.
The Spaniard tries but a deflection takes it into the keeper's hands.
What a chance for Elche!!
It's a magnificent point-blank save from Lunin as Clerc gets round the back of his marker and directs his header on target. So close to a leveller.
Madrid remember what they were doing in the first 45 and a Kroos-Benz combo hands Rodrygo a free header in front of goal. It's a poor effort but looks as though he'd have been offside anyway.
Elche must be starting to think that this could be their night given those three goals against being ruled out.
Some nice play around the Madrid box fails to offer a shooting opportunity.
Gooooaaa... wait a minute, we've been here before so I'll hold for a second.
Benzema appears to have scored but VAR taking a look... and indeed, for a third time, offside is the reason for the goal being disallowed.
Madrid's left-hand side was a fruitful route to making things happen and for the first time in this second half it has been triggered. Closed off but better signs.
If I was Ancelotti I'd be thinking already about getting some fresh legs on, not because the current group seem overly tired, but just to shake things up a little.
From the hosts perspective, this has been excellent since we came back out. Giving as good as they're getting... but I'd suggest they need to take a half-chance when it comes their way soon as Madrid likely will.
A delicious little dribble from Boye on the left leaves Carvajal for dead. A very different look to this half, with the gulf in table position much less obvious.
Benzema's had enough of those mini-scares and takes control of the ball. He lines himself up and lets fly from distance, an effort that needed a diving punch away from Badia.
That'll make a nice photo!
More possession from the lads all in white (remember today that's Elche) and questions being asked with some awkward crosses being flung in and potshots from outside the area.
What a chance for the equaliser!!!
Straight from kick-off, and an overhit cross from the right is fired back into the middle where Lucas Boye is waiting. His first time volley is still rising into the stand behind. Great start for the hosts!
Peeep! Let's go again...
The players are filing out of the tunnel and we'll be back underway in a moment...
Half-time musings
There's no surprise that Los Blancos dominated that first half but they'll go in at the break feeling disappointed that the scoreline is the way it is.
Yes, it could have been oh so different had they taken a couple of other decent chances and, of course, had the penultimate passer in the moves for the two further times they had the ball in the net had held their runs a millisecond longer.
Elche had a few opportunities to put some pressure on Lunin's goal but there was little real threat.
I'll finish with a reminder that although there's only one goal separating these teams who sit at either ends of the league, what a goal it was!
The Valverde pose
Peeep! The whistle blows and it's off to the changing rooms for some wise words from the managers.
It's a great sight to see, a big central defender striding out and into the opposition half with the ball, and purpose.
Rudiger does just that although quickly remembers where he is and lays it off to a midfielder.
A big "Ooooohhh!" sounds around the Manuel Martínez but the deflected cross was never causing any bother for Lunin. The resulting corner does even less.
There will be five addition minutes here.
Valverde loves a goal
When the Uruguayan gets behind a shot it, as they say, stays hit!
More lovely exchanges in the final third: Rodrygo, Modric and Carvajal involved this time. As they look to bring Benzema into the move a clever interception gets Elche sprinting away.
The hosts have five players in attack but Morente chooses to go it alone and is forced into a pointless shot. Danger over shortly after.
Another chance falls to the Brazilian left winger, who attempts to curl a low effort into the far corner. He set its initial course too wide and it was never coming back in.
Fair play to the home side, they're looking to give their loyal fans something to sing about.
A decent spell of possession, built from Badia in goal out from the back, gets the noise building in the stadium and forces their visitors to chase for a while.
Nothing comes from it, and Vini almost turns the space in behind against them on the break, but stutters too much.
As I was saying before Alaba put the ball in the net, when Madrid want to, they appear to be able to play through their opponents with relative ease. Ancelotti's men are, however, choosing when to step up and when to take it slow and steady. A single goal should never be settled upon.. unless you're Jose Mourinho!
GOAL!!! Alaba has doubled the lead
Another example of Madrid slicing open this Elche defence, one touch football with Benzema laying on the final pass to the Austrian to finish off.
Hold again!! VAR has checked and another offside in the build up, Karim this time, has the goal ruled out. So close.
It's only a one goal lead but this already feels like a training match. A second can't be far away if they decide to put their foot down.
Valverde is playing some lovely football this season and his confidence seems to be at an all time high.
As well as the goal tonight he's also getting involved in a bit of showboating. I'm all for that, it's the Beautiful Game, after all.
Elche have indeed taken that opportunity to move forward and a free kick from deep led to a corner, which in turn presented a pretty decent chance for Morente to have a go.
His control in the box tightened the available space for shooting, and he blasted over, potentially now replaying the moment in his head and thinking, "why didn't I hit it first time?"
There's been a relative drop in the intensity here from the league leaders, possibly happy to allow their hosts to step forward a little more and free up more space in behind for the likes of Vini to take advantage of.
Always a tough call for the team chasing, knowing the talent that can break.
GOAL!! Valverde with a stunning strike.
This time it counts, and it was only a matter of time.
More pressure from Madrid who are back in the groove. Vini does well again to get in down the left, and finds Benzema whose close range effort is blocked with a last ditch slide.
Elche get a brief respite and break down the other end. Kroos is back and clears up.
Gooooaaaaaaal!! Benzema finishes off an absolutely delightful move that rips the home defence apart with ease.
Oh wait... VAR's having a quick look and Vini had strayed just offside to collect the penultimate pass. No goal!
What a shame as that was delightful.
We're only a few minutes into this encounter and it already feels as though the pattern is set.
The hosts are penned in as Los Blancos pick out passes and plan each subsequent attack. It's going to be a long night for Elche.
Madrid get the ball rolling and immediately get into their stride. Working the ball out to Vini on the left, then back inside and out to Rodrygo on the right.
Elche are going to have to hold on as long as possible...
Peep! Jesus Gil Manzano gets the action going
Formalities out of the way, and we're about to go, Madrid playing all in black from right to left as I watch on...
Almost time
The teams are heading out from the tunnel and that means that it's almost game time.
A brilliant rendition from the home fans of the anthem. Sing along...
Símbolo de nuestra historia nuestro equipo, juega ya. Blanca y verde es la bandera en el Estadio donde va. Defendiendo tus colores con entrega y con honor. La victoria será tuya si juegas con ilusión.
Hazard hoping to send warning
It's been such a disappointing time in Madrid for Eden Hazard since he moved from Chelsea. Yes, there have been some positive moments, but most of the time it hasn't been so fun.
This season may be his last to really shine, and remind everyone what he can do. Tonight is not a bad time to do it... if given a chance.
Elche's claim to fame
As well as being rock bottom of LaLiga, the Elche fans can also sing songs tonight about their team having collected a league-high 39 cards, 36 of the yellow variety and three reds.
Ancelotti focused on Elche
“We have to push even harder in our mental preparation for the game," Carlo Ancelotti said ahead of this game.
"Because it is normal to be at maximum concentration for the biggest games and a little more difficult to do so after games that have been so difficult both mentally and physically.”
The conversation quickly turned from the present to the future, and Ancelotti was asked whether or not he sees Mbappé as deserving of another opportunity to join Real Madrid in the future. The boss wasn’t keen to talk about players from other teams, instead choosing to showcase the plethora of young talent already playing in Europe’s most successful club. “What the future holds, I don’t know. The future of this club is already written with young players like Vinicius, Rodrygo, Tchouameni, Camavinga, Valverde, Militao. These players have shown what the future of Real Madrid will be.”
Despite some unhappy reactions from fans at Vinicius only coming 8th in last night’s ceremony (despite scoring the winning goal in the Champions League final and racking up over 20 goals and 20 assists in the 2021/22 season), Carlo was calm and showed the winger that there is always room for more: “it is fair [the ranking] because this lets him try to improve next year and gives him the opportunity to be motivated to do better.”
Check out the full Ancelotti presser.
In case you've had your head deep in other things over the last 48 hours or so, you may not be aware that Karim Benzema's performances last season won him his first Ballon d'Or.
Some miracle showings by the French striker, helping Los Blancos to domestic and European glory, more than justified his award.
As well as the likes of Vinicius, Rodrygo and his other stars, Florentino Pérez is a firm favourite of the idea of a European Super League.
After the farce of its initial launch, it had seemed that it would not raise its head for quite some time. Oh, how naive some of us were.
Bernd Reichart, CEO of the company backing a proposed Super League, said on Wednesday that European football is losing its leading role in world sport and that clubs are not maximising their potential under the current system.
Reichart highlighted a report published in May by data and analytics platform Football Benchmark, which said only five of Europe’s top 32 clubs recorded a profit in the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.
Florentino's Mbappé stance
The love affair between Kylian Mbappé and Real Madrid seemed destined to be fulfilled (and it still may!) but club president Florentino Pérez has been turned off the move somewhat by the players summer decision to stay in Paris for an eye-watering renewal deal.
As Madrid's two young Brazilian forwards, Vini and Rodrigo take to the field tonight, it's worth reflecting on Pérez's recent words, holding them in very, very high esteem.
Starting XI: Real Madrid
Lunin, Carvajal, Rüdiger, Militão, Alaba, Kroos, Modrić, Valverde, Vinicius, Rodrygo, Benzema
Starting XI: Elche
Badia, Morente, Palacios, Verdu, Bigas, Clerc, Milla, Mascarell, Guti, Fernandez, Boye
It looks as though team news is on its way to us now...
How it stands: Real Madrid
As I've mentioned, Los Blancos come into this on the back of an impressive 3-1 win in El Clásico.
Real Madrid have registered only four defeats in their last 47 LaLiga clashes and have only dropped two points so far this season.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side will look for another victory against ‘Los Franjiverdes’ to keep their lead in the table, especially with the Catalans facing an always difficult Villarreal side at home.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 0 |
| 2 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 4 | 20 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| 5 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
How things stand: Elche
They say that the table doesn't lie -- OK, that tends to only really count at the end of the season when everyone has played everyone else -- and this fixture picks the high-flying leaders against the strugglers at the foot.
The hosts willing to get the first win of the season against an opponent that hasn’t tasted defeat yet in the domestic competition.
Centre-back Pedro Bigas, who suffered a nasty clash of heads against Valencia, will likely be ready for the match against Real after training normally with the rest of his teammates. Meanwhile, Gerard Gumbau and Lucas Boye will return to the team.
However, one of the best players on the team, winger Fidel Chaves, will miss out again due to a hamstring injury.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | 9 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| 17 | 8 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 18 | 7 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| 19 | 7 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 20 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 6 |
Manuel Martínez Valero is ready
It's got a capacity of just over 31,000 and you can bet that it will be noisy for the visit of their illustrious guests.
You may be wondering where the name came from. Well, it's a tribute to the club's late president.
This game between Elche and Real Madrid kicks off at the Manuel Martínez Valero Stadium at 4:00 pm US (ET) and 1:00 pm US (PT). That’s 9:00 pm local CET and 8:00 pm UK time.
Check out how you can follow it with some pictures by clicking above.
Modric follow up
It was a thumping strike from Marco Asensio in a previous game between these two, but a tidy header on the follow up came from the little Croatian. I have some doubts whether he'll start tonight or not.
Elche vs Real Madrid live: welcome
Hello and thanks for joining me for live coverage of Real Madrid's latest attempt to pick up three points on the road and maintain or push further ahead in LaLiga Santander.
Los Blancos travel to the Province of Alicante where Elche are their hosts. Our build-up starts here and from kick-off I'll be taking you through the game until we know the result.
Let's go...