How Elche’s disciplined low-block restricted Madrid to very low quality shots

In La Liga, the race for the title, Champions League spots, as well as the relegation battle, are getting tighter and tighter as the season progresses. At the top, Atletico Madrid have suffered a minor blip in a form that has opened the title race wide open, while at the other end, just one point separates the teams between 17th and 20th place.

Both Real Madrid and Elche have their own ambitions for the season. The former is challenging Atletico for the title while the latter is looking to survive for another season in the top flight. Elche, meanwhile, were also coming into this game off the back of a great victory against Sevilla last weekend. This tactical analysis will look at the tactics deployed by both managers, and we will try and explain where this match was won and lost in our analysis.

Lineups

Zinedine Zidane decided to alter his line up by shifting the formation from a 4-3-3 to a 3-5-2. For this, he drafted in Sergio Ramos, Vinicius Junior, Isco and Federico Valverde for Toni Kroos, Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and Luka Modric. 

Elche meanwhile made a single change to the lineup that beat Sevilla last weekend. Left-back Josema was replaced by Johan Mojica, as otherwise, they went with the same set of players and system.

Elche’s 4-4-2 mid-block suffocates Real Madrid

Elche set-up in a mid to low 4-4-2 block as they looked to be compact and control the central areas, forcing Real Madrid to the wide areas. From these regions, they would attempt to win the ball and counter-attack immediately.