The team needed a win and it was achieved. But this was not an easy match. For the fans and media everything was clear before the start. They thought it would have been an easy match where Madrid would get the three points without too much effort. That surely didn't happen. Real Madrid was not in its best day and on the other hand Elche played a great match.
The game started a bit slow with Real Madrid controlling the ball more than Elche. The players made some maneuvers but they were not fast enough and didn't attack the empty spaces with enough force. Elche took advantage of this and tried to lower the rhythm of the game. They needed a Real Madrid that moved slowly and that made predictable plays. However Real continued to keep the ball under the feet more and managed to create a few chances, mostly by Isco and Vinicius, as Benzema tried to create some spaces. Unfortunately those chances didn't turn out useful. The first half was concluded with Real Madrid as the better team.
The team needed to score in the first half so things would become a bit more difficult for Elche. The start of the second half had Real Madrid trying to continue everything where it was left. But everything became more difficult. Now the pressure fell on Real Madrid because the time was passing and they needed to score. The attacking played got a bit more intense with the usual Isco, Vinicius, Benzema backed by the midfield and with the wings of defense Mendy and Vasquez that continued to try to put crosses. But concentrating more on thw attacking and playing under the pressure of an unwanted result made Real Madrid sufdering mistakes and missing opponents as they tried to make counter attacks. Two moments became crucial. First, a counter attack, when Guti from Elche managed to put a cross for a teammate, whose dangerous shot was blocked by Courtois and second, the goal. A poor play by Mendy in the defense forced Ramos to give away a corner from which the goal was scored. After that Zidane made three quick substitutions: a tactical one with Ramos leaving and Rodrygo replacing him and two head to head ones with Isco and Valverde leaving the place to Modric and Kroos. These moves brought more experience and also fresh forces since the team had lost a great deal of energy. From that moment it was Real Madrid that controlled the game and increased the pressure on the opponent. It was exactly Modric who then served Benzema with the latter heading the beyond the keeper. After that, Vinicius left his place to Hazard. The attacking plays intensified even more but we had to waith the first minute of the added time to see the team score. A nice 1-2 play featuring Benzema and Mendy created an opportunity to the Frenchman to kick the ball beautifully defeating thus the opponent's keeper for the second time.
It was a match that could've been easier if the players started to game with a higher pressure. Teams that focus on defending when facing a strong opponent tend to make the game very difficult for the opponent as the time passes. Real Madrid suffered exactly this! It turned out to be a very difficult game where a lot of energy was spended. That great effort may affect the physical state of the players before an important match in UCL that will be played in midweek. However it was certainly a very interesting and emotional match the team made a great performance and we hope it will continue like this!
Hala Madrid!
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