Real Madrid held to 2-2 draw at Elche, title race tightens

Real Madrid’s winless streak extended to three matches after they were held to a 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, despite twice coming from behind in a tense La Liga encounter.

Xabi Alonso’s side, who led Barcelona by five points just two rounds ago, now hold a slim one-point advantage after dropping two valuable points on the road. Barcelona had beaten Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday in their return to the renovated Camp Nou.

Elche took the lead in the 53rd minute when Aleix Febas finished a slick passing move with a low tap-in past Thibaut Courtois. Real responded in the 78th minute as Dean Huijsen converted a close-range rebound from a corner to level the score.

However, Elche struck again in the 84th minute through Álvaro Rodríguez, who unleashed a powerful shot from outside the box. Just three minutes later, Jude Bellingham rescued Real for a second time, converting a rebound after Kylian Mbappé’s initial shot was parried by goalkeeper Iñaki Peña, who suffered a nose injury during the sequence but continued after treatment.

The match featured several missed opportunities. Elche had an early chance in the 17th minute when Rafa Mir was denied by Courtois. For Real, Mbappé squandered two promising openings, while Rodrygo forced a strong save from Peña early in the second half.

Real Madrid, having beaten Valencia 4-0 earlier this month, followed up with a 1-0 Champions League loss at Liverpool and a 0-0 draw with Rayo Vallecano, leaving them winless in three consecutive matches.

After 13 matches, Real top the league with 32 points, just ahead of Barcelona on 31. Alonso’s team will host Olympiakos in the Champions League on Wednesday, aiming to return to winning ways.