November 24, (THEWILL) — Jude Bellingham’s late strike earned Real Madrid a dramatic 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, moving them one point clear at the top of LaLiga.
The England midfielder netted in the 87th minute after the hosts had twice taken the lead at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Both goalkeepers impressed during a goalless first half, with Thibaut Courtois denying Andre Silva and Grady Diangana while Inaki Pena kept out Kylian Mbappe on multiple occasions.
Elche broke the deadlock eight minutes into the second half when captain Aleix Febas converted German Valera’s clever backheel finish off the post.
Dean Huijsen levelled for the visitors in the 78th minute, but former Madrid forward Alvaro Rodriguez restored Elche’s advantage six minutes from time with a composed finish into the bottom-left corner.
Bellingham responded swiftly, converting Mbappe’s cutback after Pena had initially saved his first attempt.
Victor Chust received a second yellow card during stoppage time, leaving Elche to finish with 10 men.
Despite the numerical advantage, Madrid could not find a winner in the remaining moments.
The result allowed Madrid to reclaim top spot after Barcelona had moved ahead with their victory over Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou earlier in the weekend.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
