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Zinedine Zidane’s Madrid knew that whatever happened in the last game, it would follow Atlético for the new year, but they were looking for a routine victory against Elche in distress when Modric opened the scoring in minute 20.
Croatian Modric lunged for a perfect header in the top corner after Marco Asensio’s long-distance shot bounced off the crossbar, the second time Madrid hit the wood in the opening minutes.
The visitors thought they had a penalty nine minutes before halftime when referee Jorge Figueroa Vázquez signaled the spot for what he thought was a hand from Ivan Marcone, but the award was canceled after a VAR control.
Five minutes into the second half, Elche got his own penalty when Dani Carvajal was caught tearing Antonio Barragán’s shirt, with Fidel stepping forward to hit home the leveler.
Lucas Boye then hit the post for the hosts before goalkeeper Edgar Badia made two magnificent saves to deny Carvajal and Sergio Ramos as Madrid pushed for a victory that would have kept them level on points with their rivals in the capital.
“When I look at how we played in the first half, I tell myself that they are two lost points“Zidane said.
“Many teams will lose points. It is a difficult season and we still have a lot of games to go.”
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