{"id":2135,"date":"2026-09-16T13:54:55","date_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:54:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/?p=2135"},"modified":"2026-09-16T13:54:57","modified_gmt":"2026-09-16T05:54:57","slug":"elche-2-3-real-madrid-the-espi-zone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/16\/elche-2-3-real-madrid-the-espi-zone\/","title":{"rendered":"Elche 2-3 Real Madrid: The &#8216;Espi zone&#8217;"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"563\" src=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-21.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2136\" srcset=\"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-21.png 1000w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-21-300x169.png 300w, https:\/\/mktynews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/image-21-768x432.png 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Real Madrid edged out Elche 3-2 at the Martinez Valero in a clash where the hosts&#8217; bravery ultimately went unrewarded, as Espi played the hero on an evening when Diomande was the standout performer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Real Madrid survived yet another second-half collapse to snatch a dramatic stoppage-time victory over Elche at the Martinez Valero, though plenty of questions remain ahead of the derby. While Arda Guler and Yan Diomande had fuel in the tank, Jose Mourinho&#8217;s men dictated terms against a proactive Elche side. However, once that energy depleted, the hosts grew in stature and hauled themselves back into the contest through Osorio, who halved the deficit following Matias Dituro&#8217;s own goal from a Guler free-kick and a strike from Kylian Mbappe. Madrid&#8217;s complacency allowed the resurgent hosts to level, but a late strike from Carlos Espi sealed all three points for the Spanish capital outfit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Elche: Building on their recent draw at San Mames, Anselmi&#8217;s side made a thoroughly positive impression. They dominated possession and, as soon as Madrid took their foot off the gas, truly believed they could complete a remarkable turnaround. The second half belonged entirely to the hosts as they breached the visitors&#8217; backline through Osorio and Fer Nino, but their bold pursuit of victory ultimately left them empty-handed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Real Madrid: The three points were secured, but the manner of the display set alarm bells ringing. Disappearing after the interval has become an all-too-familiar script this season, on this occasion surrendering a comfortable 2-0 cushion to find themselves pegged back at 2-2. They were fortunate to be bailed out by Espi, who came up with the goods once more deep into added time. It proved an off-night for both Vinicius and Mbappe despite the latter getting on the scoresheet, while Diomande offered genuine cause for optimism ahead of the upcoming fixtures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Real Madrid edged out Elche 3-2 at the Martinez Valero in a clash where the hosts&#8217; bravery ultimately<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2135","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2135"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2137,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2135\/revisions\/2137"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2135"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2135"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mktynews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2135"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}