Jose Mourinho admitted Real Madrid “risked everything” during their 3-2 LaLiga win at Elche, with substitute Carlos Espi scoring a 91st-minute winner.
Madrid looked comfortable after taking a 2-0 lead in the first half. Arda Guler’s free kick was turned into his own net by Elche goalkeeper Matias Dituro before Kylian Mbappe doubled the advantage after being found by Yan Diomande.
However, Elche scored twice late on to level the match and put Madrid’s strong start under serious pressure.
Mourinho responded by sending on forwards Espi and Endrick, leaving Madrid with six attack-minded players on the pitch. T
he move paid off when Jude Bellingham found Mbappe, who crossed for Espi to score the winning goal.
“With the changes at the end, I risked everything,” Mourinho said.
“We won, but we could have lost. We had to do it, because a draw isn’t enough.”
Espi making an impact
Espi has now scored late winners in two matches this season, having also struck away at Espanyol.
The youngster also had an overhead-kick equaliser ruled out at Real Betis, underlining his growing influence despite competing for minutes alongside Mbappe.
“[Espi] is doing well, making an important contribution to the team,” Mourinho said.
“He has a problem in front of him, which is a player who isn’t a normal player [Mbappe], and playing with both together isn’t easy.”
Madrid go level with Barcelona
Mourinho admitted Real Madrid had made life difficult for themselves after failing to finish off Elche when they were in control.
“In games that seem like they’re done, we have three, four, five chances to kill it, and we don’t,” he said.
“We didn’t score, we didn’t finish it with the 3 or 4-0. When it seems easy, you leave things like that, away from home at these stadiums.
“They get a goal and it’s an open game. The good thing is that in difficulty, the team reacts and wins.”
The result moved Madrid level on points with Barcelona at the top of LaLiga, ahead of Barcelona’s match against Racing Santander.
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