(Football news) Real Madrid defeated Elche at the Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero 3-0. It was a very dominant win at the end but it did become a bit complicated for the Los Blancos at times. Carlo Ancelotti benched French duo Ferland Mendy and Aurélien Tchouaméni but surprisingly those were the only two changes he made from the Clasico. Antonio Rudiger played at centre back while David Alaba moved to the left. Fede Valverde was re-allocated to midfield while Rodrygo started up front. Andriy Lunin kept his place in the side for potentially the last time as Thibaut Courtois is likely to be back in the next match.
Real Madrid looked to have taken the lead in the 6th minute via Karim Benzema but the goal was ruled out for offside. It was a real shame as it came after some very intricate build-up. Madrid opened the scoring just 5 minutes later via a wonder strike by Fede Valverde. Carlo Ancelotti in a press conference at the start of the season said that he will tear up his coaching licence and leave if Valverde doesn't score at least 10 goals this season. It's only October and the Uruguayan has already scored 6 goals. In the 26th minute, Real Madrid had another wonder goal via David Alaba chalked off for offside. In the 61st minute, Benzema once again found the back of the net but VAR once again ruled the goal out for offside. The Ballon d'Or winner did get his goal after being set up by a wonderful back heel assist from Rodrygo. Substitute Marco Asensio scored a 3rd goal as Rodrygo got his 2nd assist of the game.
It was a good performance by Real Madrid but the 3 disallowed goals made things complicated. Karim Benzema won the Man of the Match award two days after he won the Ballon d'Or. After playing a big game like the Clasico it would've been understandable if Madrid came into this match tired but they didn't. These are the kind of tough away fixtures where Madrid need to turn up and win. The Merengues are now 6 points clear of Barcelona who now have a home fixture against Unai Emery's Villarreal.
Also read: How will Jota's absence affect Portugal's chances at the World Cup?
