Elche Stun 10-Man Atleti to Escape LaLiga Drop Zone

Elche pile misery on Simeone, Atleti suffer another away loss

Atletico Madrid’s struggles continued in a 3-2 loss at Elche, as Almada saw red and Silva netted twice. The result lifts Elche out of the bottom three while Atleti remain winless on the road in 2026 aside from one victory.

Thiago Almada’s first-half red card proved costly for Atleti, who’ve now lost seven of eight in all competitions despite a Nicolás González double...

Elche climbed out of the bottom three with a 3-2 home win over 10-man Atlético Madrid in tonight’s early LaLiga kickoff, piling more pressure on Atleti after a seventh defeat in eight games across all competitions.

Heavily rotated after their Copa del Rey final shootout loss to Sociedad, Atleti eased some of that pain by taking the lead in the 10th minute.

Nicolas Gonzalez won the ball deep in his own half and surged forward, playing a slick one-two with Rodri Mendoza before slotting home.

Elche had already spurned an early chance when Rafa Mir volleyed Germán Valera’s cross narrowly over. They made no mistake with their next opening on 18 minutes.

After a corner was only half-cleared, Tete Morente nodded it back into the box and David Affengruber beat Jan Oblak to the dropping ball, poking it home.

Los Franjiverdes kept the pressure on, and that intensity brought their second.

On the half-hour, Affengruber forced Thiago Almada into a mistake on the edge of his own box. Almada then pulled Affengruber’s shirt and was sent off for denying a clear goalscoring opportunity, with André Silva sending Oblak the wrong way from the spot.

But Atleti hit back almost immediately from kick-off. González raced in behind on the right and headed his own flick over Matías Dituro, beating Affengruber’s last-ditch clearance on the line.

 

Valera nearly added a spectacular late in the half. After managing just one first-half goal in their previous eight games, Elche had already sent a message.

Diego Simeone’s men thought they’d levelled again early in the second half when Álex Baena took down a ball over the top and finished neatly, but the offside flag cut the celebrations short.

Mir responded with a header from Valera’s driven cross that was easy for Oblak to claim. That was the only effort at either end until just past the hour, when the Slovenian flapped at a corner before Mir could control.

Elche smelled blood. Affengruber’s header from a corner was parried by Oblak, but the defender collected the rebound and squared for Silva to tap in his second.

FT: #ElcheAtleti 3-2

😱 5 goals and 2 braces in this crazy game! #LALIGAEASPORTS | #DesenlaceLALIGA pic.twitter.com/vH8qXSWpEl

— LALIGA English (@LaLigaEN) April 22, 2026

Álvaro Rodríguez should have sealed it soon after but dragged a golden chance wide. The hosts then survived Atleti’s late push, with Antoine Griezmann forcing a superb 89th-minute save from Dituro, to secure a third straight home win.

For Los Colchoneros, it’s now seven away league defeats this season. The Rojiblancos remain stuck on just one away win in 2026.