Real Madrid dramatically rescued a result against Elche for the second time in four days as Eder Militao s stoppage-time header snatched a 2-2 LaLiga draw.
The league leaders recovered from a goal down in Thursday s Copa del Rey defeat of the same side and this time trailed by two, as Lucas Boye and Pere Milla – sent off in midweek – looked set to condemn Madrid to a first home loss in 21 league matches.
Karim Benzema had missed a first-half penalty for the hosts, too, but Luka Modric pulled a goal back from 12 yards with eight minutes remaining when Milla was punished for handball.
Militao then headed home a dramatic equaliser in the 92nd minute to deny Elche a first win in this fixture since March 1978 and restore a four-point gap to second-placed Sevilla.
Madrid had carried the greater threat before falling behind. Vinicius Junior, Benzema and Casemiro were all denied by Edgar Badia, while Toni Kroos powerful long-range effort was just off target.
Carlo Ancelotti s men were presented with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock when Vinicius was brought down by Helibelton Palacios in the 32nd minute, only for Benzema to send his spot-kick over the crossbar.
Elche punished their opponents wastefulness two minutes before the break when Boye arrived to head in Fidel s inviting cross.
Badia continued to keep the hosts at bay, producing a magnificent reflex save to claw away Kroos delicious free-kick while also again keeping out Benzema and Casemiro.
Kroos and Vinicius again went close as Madrid turned up the pressure, but the visitors doubled their lead in the 76th minute. Boye was involved once more as he slipped in Milla, who calmly slotted past Thibaut Courtois.
However, Modric halved the deficit from the spot after Milla was penalised, before Militao headed in Vinicius cross to stun Elche again at the last.
What does it mean? Relief for Madrid
While Madrid missed the chance to move six points clear at the top of LaLiga, they maintained a year-long unbeaten home run and are now 12 without defeat against Elche.
Los Franjiverdes had only three shots to Madrid s 23 but battled superbly and were seconds away from a famous win before Militao intervened.
Militao to the rescue
Madrid s last-gasp equaliser came courtesy of an unlikely source as Militao rescued a point with his first league goal since a 2-0 win over Osasuna in May.
The Brazil international also attempted 74 passes – a tally bettered solely by Ferland Mendy (76) – while only Casemiro (11) gained possession on more occasions (10).
Bad day for Benzema
Benzema had been involved in at least one goal in each of his past two home LaLiga appearances against Elche (two goals and one assist).
However, the France international was unable to continue that run here. Despite a game-high tally of five shots and two on target – matched in both regards by Casemiro – his penalty was one to forget, before injury forced the forward off in the 58th minute.
Key Opta Facts
– Elche scored two goals against Real Madrid in an away LaLiga game for the first time since January 1989 (4-2 win for Madrid).
– Madrid have won four penalties in their last five games in all competitions, as many as in their previous 66 games.
– Madrid had six shots on target in the first half against Elche, their highest tally in the first 45 minutes without scoring in all competitions this season.
– Benzema failed to score from the penalty spot for the first time since Opta has analysed all competitions (16 taken, 15 scored). Of these, 14 were in LaLiga, failing to score only in this game.
– Modric took and scored a penalty for the second time in his career in the top five European leagues and the first time for Real Madrid. The other one was for Tottenham against Liverpool in May 2011.
– Milla is the first player to score and concede a penalty against Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu since Dani Parejo in April 2017.
What s next?
There are 11 days until Madrid return to action. They will be hoping for a much smoother day when they travel to San Mames to face Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals. Elche host Alaves in the league two days later.
