La Liga Thriller: Real Madrid Drop Points at Elche as Atletico Madrid Edge Getafe

Jude Bellingham struck late to rescue Real Madrid a 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, keeping the reigning champions top of La Liga by a single point over Barcelona

Xabi Alonso’s side struggled against their mid-table opponents in an entertaining contest, coming from behind twice

Aleix Febas gave the hosts the lead before Dean Huijsen equalised for Madrid. Alvaro Rodriguez put Elche back in front, but Bellingham capitalised on a cut-back to secure the draw

Barcelona cut Madrid’s lead to two points over the weekend after a 4-0 thrashing of Athletic Bilbao at Camp Nou

Earlier, Atletico Madrid scraped a 1-0 victory over Getafe to remain fourth and keep the pressure on the top three

Giacomo Raspadori forced an own goal from Domingos Duarte in the 82nd minute for the match-winner

Atletico have now gone 12 league matches unbeaten following their season-opening loss to Espanyol

“It’s football after a good run we’ve had some disappointing results, but we know what we want,” Alonso said. He gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his first start since August while resting Vinicius Junior

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Alexander-Arnold was partly at fault for Febas’s opener but helped set up Madrid’s equaliser later

Elche impressed against Madrid, matching their recent performance against Barcelona

The hosts finished with 10 men after Victor Chust was sent off late, with coach Eder Sarabia frustrated by the draw, citing a controversial collision involving Vinicius and goalkeeper Inaki Pena

Despite the draw, Real Madrid remain top, though they have failed to win in their last three matches across all competitions. Atletico trail by four points but continue to apply pressure from behind, with coach Diego Simeone crediting both form and a bit of luck

Writer : Mweru Mbugua