April 23, (THEWILL) — Elche climbed out of the LaLiga relegation zone after Andre Silva’s two-goal contribution earned them a 3-2 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid at Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.
Atletico arrived still reeling from their Copa del Rey final defeat to Real Sociedad, yet took the lead early. Nico Gonzalez capped a brisk counter-attack inside 10 minutes, combining with Rodrigo Mendoza before stabbing in the opener. Elche levelled shortly after when David Affengruber poked home Tete Morente’s nod-down following a poorly cleared corner.
The contest shifted decisively in 30 minutes. Thiago Almada lost the ball on the edge of his own penalty area and then brought down Affengruber inside the box, earning both a red card and conceding a penalty. Silva converted coolly, though Gonzalez replied almost instantly, racing to the byline and lifting the ball over goalkeeper Matias Dituro with a header that crossed the line before Affengruber could intervene.
After the interval, Alex Baena thought he had given Atletico the lead only for the referee to disallow the effort for offside.
Silva had the final say on 75 minutes, guiding Elche back in front with a composed finish. The home side held firm to confirm three points and inflict a fourth consecutive league defeat on Atletico.
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.
