Espi winner rescues Real Madrid after Elche comeback

15 Sep 2026, 21:42 · CNA · Join

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Elche v Real Madrid - Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero, Elche, Spain - September 15, 2026 Real Madrid's Carlos Espi celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Pablo Morano

Soccer Football - LaLiga - Elche v Real Madrid - Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero, Elche, Spain - September 15, 2026 Real Madrid's Carlos Espi celebrates scoring their third goal with teammates REUTERS/Pablo Morano

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ELCHE, Spain, Sept 15 : Real Madrid squandered a two-goal lead before substitute Carlos Espi struck in stoppage time to secure a dramatic 3-2 victory at Elche in LaLiga on Tuesday.

Real went 2-0 up inside 33 minutes through a Matias Dituro own goal and Kylian Mbappe, but second-half strikes from Abiel Osorio and Fer Nino hauled Elche level before Espi restored the visitors' lead in the 91st minute.

Real Madrid moved level at the top of the table with Barcelona on 15 points, although the Catalan side have a game in hand. Elche remain winless and are rooted to the bottom of the LaLiga table with two points.

Real created several early openings but were let down by Vinicius Junior's loose play before Arda Guler's whipped free kick struck the woodwork in the 25th minute and rebounded into the net off goalkeeper Dituro.

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Despite the occasional promising moment from Elche, they looked unable to stop Real from cutting through their defence and Yan Diomande provided his first assist for the club when his cross from the right found an unmarked Mbappe to double the lead.

Jose Mourinho's side appeared comfortable at halftime despite Elche enjoying plenty of possession, but the game became increasingly disjointed after the break.

Osorio gave Elche hope in the 71st minute, rising to head home Lucas Cepeda’s cross for his first goal for the club.

Elche's goal injected some jeopardy into the game for Real, but they struggled to regain their first-half sharpness.

That was in evidence when Marc Cucurella surrendered possession deep inside his own half, allowing Nino to level with a fine finish seven minutes from time.

The visitors finally rediscovered their urgency in the closing stages and Mbappe raced in behind the Elche defence before squaring for Espi to tap into an empty net.

It was the second time in six league matches that the 21-year-old had come off the bench to score a late winner, although Mourinho remained concerned by Real's failure to control the second half ahead of Sunday’s derby against Atletico Madrid.

"It's not about goals, it's about giving up control of the games," said Mourinho.

"They can score out of context, but when they did score, we had given up control of the game."

Rayo Vallecano held on for a 2-1 victory at Butarque against Espanyol. Luis Rioja scored against his former side Alaves with 12 minutes to go to earn Valencia a 1-0 win in their first game under interim manager Oscar Sanchez.

Espi winner rescues Real Madrid after Elche comeback

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