Real Madrid were two goals up inside 33 minutes at the Martínez Valero, against the team bottom of La Liga, and they still needed a 91st minute goal from a substitute who had been on the pitch for four minutes.
The lead arrived without much being built
The first goal on 25 was an own goal by Matías Dituro, Elche's goalkeeper. The second on 33 was the only one Real Madrid actually constructed in the half, Kylian Mbappé right footed from the centre of the box to the bottom right corner, assisted by Yan Diomande with a cross.
Two nil at the break, and one of the two had been put in by the other team.
Twenty shots, four on target
Real Madrid had twenty shots. Four were on target. Elche had eleven and three.
Vinícius Júnior took five of them, Mbappé four, Arda Güler three. Two of those twelve attempts were on target. Madrid were also caught offside five times, against Elche's one.
That is a lot of activity in the right areas of the pitch and almost nothing arriving at the goalkeeper, which is why a two goal lead never felt like three.
Twelve minutes, two crosses
Elche changed it with substitutions. Lucas Cepeda and Thomas Lemar came on together on 58, Fer Niño and Rubén Sánchez on 68.
On 71 Abiel Osorio headed in from very close range, assisted by Cepeda with a cross. On 83 Fer Niño finished right footed from the right side of the box, assisted by Josan, who had come on three minutes earlier.
Both goals were made by substitutes and both arrived from wide. Thibaut Courtois made one save in the entire match and conceded twice, which says the goals were not shot stopping so much as what was allowed to reach the six yard box.
Elche had the ball
Elche finished with 55.7 per cent of the possession, 542 passes to Madrid's 430, and 492 of them accurate. The side bottom of the division outpassed the side second in it.
They also committed 21 fouls to Madrid's eight and took four bookings to two, so it was not a comfortable watch, but eighteen crosses and eleven shots is a plan and it very nearly took a point.
Carlos Espí, on for four minutes
Real Madrid's answer was to keep changing it. Brahim Díaz for Vinícius and Jude Bellingham for Güler on 68, Endrick for Aurélien Tchouaméni on 86, then Carlos Espí for Trent Alexander-Arnold on 87.
On 90+1 Espí scored, right footed from very close range into the high centre of the goal, assisted by Mbappé.
Four minutes on the pitch, one shot, three points. It was the fourth Madrid change of the night and the only one that decided anything.
What it leaves
Real Madrid have 15 points from six matches, five wins and one defeat. They are level on points with Barcelona, who are above them on goal difference and have played a game fewer.
Elche are bottom on two points from six, still without a win, and have now lost a match in which they had the majority of the ball and scored twice.
ESPN carried a piece the following day headlined "Mourinho warns his Real Madrid side about failing to finish games strongly". On the evidence of 71 to 83 minutes at the Martínez Valero, that is the right thing to be worried about.
