Carlos Espi struck in stoppage time for the second time this season as Real Madrid survived a dramatic comeback to defeat Elche 3-2 in LaLiga.
Madrid appeared set to drop two points at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero after surrendering a two-goal advantage, a result that could have opened the door for Barcelona to extend their lead at the top of the table.
However, Espi once again proved decisive. The 21-year-old, who scored in the final minute of his Real Madrid debut to secure a 2-1 victory over Espanyol on the opening day, struck again one minute into stoppage time to give Jose Mourinho’s side a dramatic victory.
Vinicius Junior missed several early opportunities before Madrid eventually went ahead in the 25th minute. Arda Guler’s curling free-kick struck the left post, travelled across the goal line and then went in off Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro.
Madrid doubled their lead eight minutes later. Yan Diomande delivered a well-weighted pass across the penalty area for Kylian Mbappe, who finished calmly to score his side’s second. The goal also gave Diomande his first LaLiga goal involvement, although Mbappe took a knock to the knee from Dituro during the move.
Mbappe recovered and continued, but an offside decision ruled out what would have been his second goal late in the first half. Vinicius then missed another opportunity as Madrid failed to put the game beyond Elche.
The hosts returned from the interval with renewed intensity and eventually pulled one back in the 71st minute. Abiel Osorio redirected his header across Thibaut Courtois and into the net.
Elche completed the comeback when substitute Fer Nino found the bottom-left corner, sending the home crowd into celebration.
Madrid were handed one final opportunity after Mourinho brought Espi on for Trent Alexander-Arnold. With time running out, Mbappe raced onto Jude Bellingham’s pass down the left before delivering across goal, allowing Espi to arrive at the right moment and tap in the winning goal.
Nino’s goal, which came with seven minutes remaining, appeared to have put Madrid in serious trouble.
A draw would have left Barcelona with an opportunity to move five points clear by beating Racing Santander, potentially adding significance to the dropped points early in the title race.
Espi, however, once again emerged as Madrid’s unlikely match-winner. The club has a long tradition of players producing decisive moments late in matches, and both of Espi’s first two goals for the Spanish giants have now come in the 90th minute or later.
No other player in the competition has scored two such late winning goals during the 2026-27 campaign.
The victory moved Madrid level with Barcelona on 15 points, although they have played one additional match. It also extended Mourinho’s remarkable record in LaLiga, with the Portuguese manager now having defeated all 25 opponents he has faced in the competition.
Despite the narrow scoreline, Madrid dominated the expected goals (xG) battle, recording 3.56 compared with Elche’s 0.85. However, their finishing remained wasteful, with only four of their 20 attempts finding the target.