Review: Real Madrid beats Elche as Atletico and Girona also win in La Liga

Madrid, March 15 — Real Madrid tightened the title race with a commanding 4-1 home victory over Elche on Saturday night, trimming FC Barcelona’s lead at the summit of La Liga to a single point.

The breakthrough arrived six minutes before the interval when Antonio Rudiger punished Elche’s failure to deal with a lofted free kick, smashing a powerful shot beyond the goalkeeper to open the scoring. The advantage was doubled shortly afterward by Fede Valverde, who continued his rich vein of form after netting a midweek hat-trick against Manchester City.

With the win secured, Madrid turn their attention to the chasing pack, while Elche remain mired in relegation danger. Elsewhere on the matchday, both Atletico Madrid and Girona collected three points to keep pace in the upper reaches of the table, ensuring the battle for European qualification spots remains as fierce as ever.