Real Madrid lead Elche CF 2–0, let it slip to 2–2, and need Espí in stoppage time again.
The numbers
| Real Madrid | Elche CF | |
|---|---|---|
| Possession | 44% | 56% |
| Shots | 20 | 11 |
| xG | 3.61 | 0.78 |
| Touches in opp. box | 50 | 22 |
Result the chances deserved: Real Madrid 88% / 8% / Elche CF 4% (Poisson).
Starting line-ups
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois, Alexander-Arnold, Konaté, Huijsen, Cucurella, Valverde, Tchouaméni, Diomande, Güler, Vinícius Jr, Mbappé.
Elche CF (3-4-3): Dituro, Sangaré, Redondo, Chust, Morente, Villar, Aguado, Revivo, Valera, Osorio, Neto.
Elche subs: Cepeda & Lemar (58', Aguado & Valera), Fer Niño & Rubén Sánchez (68', Neto & Sangaré), Josan (80', Morente). Elche manager: Martín Anselmi. Bookings: Diomande 4', Aguado 31', Konaté 73', Cepeda 78', Josan 90+3', Villar 90+4'. Minutes from LaLiga's match centre. Elche's shape is listed as 3-4-3 by TNT Sports, but as 4-5-1 by LaLiga and Elche's own site (FotMob: 4-1-4-1), so Elche's positions here are approximate. Real Madrid's shape is 4-2-3-1 per LaLiga, FotMob and TNT Sports.
Key moments, move by move
- Güler curls a free kick around the outside of the wall.
- It hits the post.
- The rebound comes off Dituro's hand and goes in.
- Diomande runs at Elche CF down the right.
- He gets to the edge of the box and drills a low cross.
- Mbappé finishes with his right foot.
- Cepeda, on at 58', crosses into the box.
- Osorio gets in front of Cucurella and heads it in from close range.
- Josan, on three minutes earlier, finds Fer Niño inside the box.
- Niño turns away from Cucurella.
- He fires a low, angled shot across Courtois.
- Real Madrid break with Elche CF committed forward.
- Bellingham carries it down the left and slides Mbappé through.
- Mbappé squares it across the box.
- Espí, unmarked at the back post, taps it in.
Güler and Diomande build 2–0, then Real Madrid lose the ball
- First half: Güler ran the game with through balls from the number 10 role, and Diomande gave Real Madrid width on the right. He made seven successful dribbles and won 12 duels (Tips.GG), and set up the second goal with a low cross.
- Missed chances: Vinícius had three one-on-ones with Dituro and missed them all (Goal). Real Madrid finished with 3.61 xG, 50 touches in Elche CF's box and only four shots on target out of 20 (AllFootball).
- Elche CF's changes: Anselmi brought on Cepeda and Lemar at 58', and La Opinión says Elche gained precision and attacking threat. Güler went off at 68' and, per Managing Madrid, Real Madrid 'lost considerable control' after that. Mourinho said he made that change and Brahim's 'exactly because we were losing control', with Güler losing intensity (Real Madrid). Elche finished with 56% of the ball.
- All in: after 2–2, Mourinho finished with six attacking players on the pitch (Goal). The winner was a counter-attack: Bellingham down the left, Mbappé across the box, Espí at the back post.
Recreate it in FM26
Real Madrid · Güler as the 10, Diomande isolated on the right · 4-2-3-1Show cardHide card
Güler as the 10, Diomande isolated on the right
| Pos | Player | In Possession | Out of Possession |
|---|---|---|---|
| GK | Courtois | Goalkeeper | Line-Holding Keeper |
| RB | Alexander-Arnold | Full-Back | Full-Back |
| RCB | Konaté | Centre-Back | Stopping Centre-Back |
| LCB | Huijsen | Ball-Playing Centre-Back | Covering Centre-Back |
| LB | Cucurella | Full-Back | Holding Full-Back |
| RDM | Valverde | Box-to-Box Midfielder | Central Midfielder |
| LDM | Tchouaméni | Defensive Midfielder | Pressing Defensive Midfielder |
| RW | Diomande | Winger | Winger |
| AM | Güler | Advanced Playmaker | Attacking Midfielder |
| LW | Vinícius Jr | Inside Forward | Wide Outlet Winger |
| ST | Mbappé | Centre Forward | Central Outlet Centre Forward |
Team instructions
In Possession
- Attacking TransitionCounter-Attack
- TempoHigher
- DribblingEncouraged
- Crossing StyleLow Crosses
- Attacking WidthWider
Out of Possession
- Line of EngagementMid Block
- Defensive LineStandard
- Defensive TransitionStandard
The idea: Give the ball to the 10 and let him find a winger who can beat his man one-v-one and cross low for a fast striker. You need a real dribbler on the right and a holding midfielder who reads passing lanes.
What FM26 can't copy: FM26 won't show the loss of control after Güler went off; in the game a like-for-like sub keeps the same instructions.
Our reading of this match in FM26 terms, not an exported tactic file. Role names as in FM26.
What if? Replay it with a different plan
Our best alternative plan: Keep Güler; Bellingham for Diomande at 68', Rüdiger on at 75' (for Cucurella). Change the players, not the plan: keep Güler on to hold the ball after 2–0, and put Rüdiger in once Elche CF started crossing. Real Madrid still win this, with less drama. It moves Real Madrid's win chance from 88% to 92% (xG 3.61–0.78 becomes 3.61–0.48). Try your own changes to formation, pressing, approach and substitutions.
The game-changer Real Madrid needed
Antonio Rüdiger
Both Elche CF goals came at Cucurella's side of the box: he didn't contest Osorio's header and was beaten for Niño's equaliser. Rüdiger had dominated the air against Rayo Vallecano three days earlier. Once Elche started crossing, a third centre-back or a stronger body on that side was the obvious change.
Joško Gvardiol
Real Madrid's left side had to defend crosses and one-v-ones in the box late on. Gvardiol is a centre-back who also plays left-back: strong in the air and in duels, and still able to carry the ball forward like a full-back.
What the analysts said
“With the changes at the end, I risked everything. We won, but we could have lost. We had to do it, because a draw isn't enough.”José Mourinho (Goal)
“There are matches that seem over but aren't, where we have three, four, five chances to kill the game and don't take them.”José Mourinho (Real Madrid)
“He has a problem in front of him, which is a player who isn't a normal player, and playing with both together isn't easy.”José Mourinho, on Espí and Mbappé (Goal)
“Nos ha faltado estar juntos en el tramo final.” (We weren't together enough in the final stretch.)Martín Anselmi, Elche coach (La Opinión)
“When I made the first two changes, with Bellingham and Brahim, it was exactly because we were losing control.”José Mourinho (Real Madrid)
Madrid keep winning the first half and handing back the second.
What's happening. Madrid led Elche 2–0 after 33 minutes, were pegged back to 2–2 by the 83rd, and won with another stoppage-time goal from substitute Espí.
How it works. Güler ran the first half and Diomande kept beating his man. Elche brought on two creative players at 58' and started keeping the ball; Güler went off at 68' and Madrid lost control. Both Elche goals came down Cucurella's side. A team that can only press and break needs a way to rest with the ball when it is ahead.
What the shots say. Replaying every shot, Madrid win almost nine times in ten. Vinícius missed three one-on-ones that would have ended it. Mourinho blames finishing, and he is half right; the other half is control. It is the same pattern as against Inter and Rayo.