Real Madrid beat Elche 3-2 after Mbappé struck in the 91st minute, turning a match that had slipped from control into three points at the death. The winner came after Real Madrid had led 0-2 at halftime, then watched Elche level the game before the final blow.
That late finish is why Real Madrid Vs Elche is being searched now. Mbappé not only scored the deciding goal, he also added his second assist in LaLiga EA Sports this season, and the result kept Real Madrid in a pattern that has become harder to ignore: three of their league goals this season have come from players off the bench, with only Sevilla on four. It was a match that swung from comfort to panic and then back again, all in the space of one half-hour.
The first half looked settled after Dituro put the ball into his own net following a free kick by Güler, and Real Madrid went to the break 0-2 up. Then the game changed. Elche came back through Osorio and Fer Niño, and suddenly the side that had controlled the scoreline had handed the contest back. Real Madrid’s bench changed the picture again, and the late winner underlined how much this team now depends on impact after the break as much as it does on the players who start.
That is also where Mourinho’s post-match concern lands. He said he was not worried about not keeping a clean sheet for Sunday so much as about control itself, arguing that Real Madrid can score and still lose the thread when they give up the rhythm of a game. Chust, for his part, pointed to the second half as the path to follow, saying Elche should have been more conservative after equalizing and that the team had paid for the chances Real Madrid eventually converted.
The final image belongs to Mbappé. He was the difference at 91', and the numbers around him tell the same story: a second assist, a late winner, and a Real Madrid side that keeps finding ways to decide games after the match should already be gone. The unanswered question is not whether they can strike late. It is how often they can keep doing it after losing control for so long.
