Real Madrid pulls off late La Liga win after squandering 2-goal lead at Elche

[AP Photo]

Elche 2, Real Madrid 3

Carlos Espí scored in stoppage time after a nifty move by Jude Bellingham and an assist by Kylian Mbappé to help Real Madrid salvage a 3-2 win at Elche in the Spanish league after it relinquished a two-goal lead on Tuesday (yesterday, Macau time).

Bellingham used a neat long touch to get past an opponent near midfield and fed Mbappé in a breakaway into the area, and the France star quickly set up Espí’s close-range score to give Madrid the victory and move the Spanish powerhouse even on points with Barcelona. The defending champion can regain the lead when it hosts promoted Racing Santander on Wednesday [today, Macau time].

“We went from having it easy to losing control,” Real Madrid coach José Mourinho said. “But in the difficulty of the moment, facing the pressure of losing points, the team reacted and won the match, which in the end is the most important thing. The good thing is that nobody gets bored when Real Madrid plays. The games are always fun.”

Madrid had taken the lead against Elche with an own-goal by goalkeeper Matías Dituro in the 25th after the ball ricocheted off him following a well-struck free kick taken by Arda Guler. Mbappé added to the lead by scoring from close range after an assist by Yan Diomande in the 33rd.

Abiel Osorio pulled the hosts closer with a header in the 71st and Fer Niño netted the equalizer in the 83rd.

There was a bit of a scare immediately after Mbappé scored as he stayed on the ground in visible pain, but he eventually returned to the field after being attended by Madrid doctors.

The goal moved him to seven goals in six league matches, one goal more than Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, Sergio Camello and Roberto Fernández.

Mbappé had scored a brace in Madrid’s 4-1 win against Rayo Vallecano in the previous round.

He had a goal disallowed for offside just before halftime on Tuesday.

Bellingham came into the match by replacing Guler in the 68th.

Madrid’s only league setback this season was at Real Betis two rounds ago.

Players from both clubs wore t-shirts showing words of support for Ceuta as they came onto the field before the match. But Madrid players Mbappé, Vinícius Júnior and Ibrahima Konaté wore the shirt only halfway down their chest, without pulling them down, and obscuring some of the words on it. Mbappé and Vinícius removed their shirts before they saluted the other players and the referees.

They had not immediately explained why they did that.

In July, tens of thousands of migrants breached the frontier between Spain’s North African territory of Ceuta and neighboring Morocco.

Valencia won 1-0 at Alaves to end a four-game losing streak and a winless start to the season.

The string of poor results had led to the firing of coach Carlos Corberán and soccer CEO Ron Gourlay this weekend. It then appointed Braulio Vázquez as its new sporting director and named B-team coach Óscar Sánchez as an interim manager.

Luis Rioja scored a 78th-minute winner for Valencia, which had been outscored 10-1 so far.

Valencia fans had been protesting and called players “mercenaries” after the 5-0 home loss to Barcelona. They have long called for the exit of owner Peter Lim. TALES AZZONI, MADRID, MDT/AP