Espí won it in 90+1
Elche 2–3 Real Madrid, and Carlos Espí scored the winner in the 90+1st minute (2)(4)(11). Your team were staring at dropped points and got out of it. Arda Güler opened the scoring from a free kick (11). That is 15 points from six games and you stay level with Barcelona at the top (2)(4).
Mbappé scored, then went off after a clash
Kylian Mbappé found the net at Elche, then left the pitch briefly after a collision with Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro (7). That is the story everyone will be watching before Sunday.
Diomande finally delivered
Yan Diomande got his first goal contribution in a Real Madrid shirt at Elche (8). He has taken stick for a slow start. Not anymore, at least for a night.
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Tchouameni back, Bellingham on the bench
Aurelien Tchouameni made his first start of the season at Elche (12). Jude Bellingham and Bernardo Silva started on the bench (12). José Mourinho's XI did the job, but only just.
Mourinho: "facilitismo"
Mourinho named the problem himself after Elche: "El facilitismo es cuando todo parece fácil y tú dejas las cosas andar" (6). Loose, coasting, letting games drift. He knows what almost cost you.
Set pieces, without the goal
Real Madrid carried more danger from set pieces than Elche at 2–3, with Trent Alexander-Arnold delivering four times (15). No goal came from them.
Roncero wants Espí to start ahead of Vini
Carlos Espí has become the man who turns up when it matters (10). Radio pundit Tomás Roncero has a clear view: "Espí tem que ser titular. E, se Vini tiver que ir para o banco, que vá" (5).
The derby is Sunday, and a Madrid ref for the first time
You go to Atlético Madrid on Sunday, September 20 at the Metropolitano (9)(14). Miguel Angel Ortiz Arias will referee, the first Madrid-born official to take charge of a La Liga Madrid derby (14). Away form so far: two wins and one defeat (9).
United's teenager, another loophole attempt
Real Madrid are pushing to sign 15-year-old JJ Gabriel from Manchester United, and are looking at whether United can stop him leaving when he turns 16 on October 6 if he holds a European passport (13). Sir Jim Ratcliffe is trying to keep him (13). Unconfirmed until it happens.
Fan reactions
The subreddit has two things on its mind: Yan Diomande, with two separate threads of his Elche performance, and Arda Güler's free kick, debated frame by frame over whether it brushed the keeper's glove. There is also a long thread arguing Vinícius has lost a yard of pace and needs to change how he plays, plus a chart showing chance creation is up sharply on last season under Mourinho. The Vinícius thread is where the argument is loudest.
