For the second time this season, Real Madrid needed a late winner from substitute Carlos Espí to beat Elche 3-2 on Tuesday night. The result came from a game of two halves, with total domination in the first half succumbing to concede two late goals from Elche to pull level before Espí’s injury-time heroics.
120 – Games since Real Madrid scored direct from a free-kick
Arda Güler will claim what was his first goal for Real Madrid to be scored direct from a free-kick to open the scoring in Elche. He became the first player to score direct from a free-kick for Real Madrid since
Rodrygo Goes scored against Sevilla on May 27th 2023. It was the longest direct free-kick drought on record in Real Madrid history, surpassing the 115 games recorded between 1969 and 1972.
13 – Minutes per goal for Carlos Espí
For the second time this season, Real Madrid called upon super sub Carlos Espí as a late substitute to save them the game. At the Martínez Valero he came on with three minutes of normal time remaining, and scored with only four minutes on the field. It was his second Real Madrid goal with only 26 minutes played, across five appearances. He is yet to play more than the 10 minutes granted to him on his debut against Espanyol, but it seems that he doesn’t need it.
7 – Goals in the first 6 games of the season for a second season running for Kylian Mbappé
The Frenchman became the first man since Hugo Sánchez in 1987 to score seven goals in six games at the start of the La Liga season for consecutive campaigns. Before him, Pruden Sánchez was the only other man to achieve the feat in 1946. He also joined Sánchez and Karim Benzema in becoming only the third Real Madrid player, and only the fifth of all clubs, to score against every team he has played against in La Liga, finally scoring against Elche
7 – Dribbles from Yan Diomande, more than any other player
Alongside claiming his first assist as a Real Madrid player, winger Yan Diomande topped the charts for both dribbles, with seven, and chances created, with three. He was a live wire down the right and later switched to the left, though his defensive work in the build-up to Elche’s equaliser is unlikely to have pleased José Mourinho on what otherwise would have been an ideal night for the Ivory Coast international.
9 – Shots against the woodwork this season, a La Liga high
Arda Güler joined the club of players to hit the woodwork for Real Madrid this season, although the deflection may have been helped across the line by Elche goalkeeper Matías Dituro. No other side in La Liga can rival Los Blancos for the number of times they’ve hit the post or the crossbar this season. The next highest return belongs to Barcelona on four, less than half of Real Madrid’s tally.
3.56 – Real Madrid’s xG
The number of chances Real Madrid are generating this season is incredible, but this game produced the highest expected goals of any this season for Real Madrid. The lowest return of the season is still an impressive 2.62, and Real Madrid were below that until Carlos Espí had two efforts in injury time rack up 1.01 xG in less than a minute. 2.03 xG came in a dominant first half, with only 0.52 xG being generated between minutes 46 and 90.
