Real Madrid vs. Elche: 3 takeaways from a 2-1 win on Matchday 27

It wasn’t pretty, but Real Madrid got the job done against Elche on Saturday. They needed to give up on the idea of resting Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, and they would not have won this match without Karim Benzema‘s late brace. But they got the three points they needed in this difficult title race with Atletico Madrid and FC Barcelona.

Here are three takeaways from the 2-1 win over Elche at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano on La Liga’s Matchday 27.

Karim Benzema means everything

Karim Benzema equalized in the 73rd minute with his head and then struck in the 91st minute to win the game very late for Real Madrid. He received some criticism earlier in the match for missing a chance, but it was a difficult one in which the ball was chopping at him. Benz had to take the chance on first-time with his left foot, and that was always going to be difficult.

In the end, Benzema reminded Madridistas – as if 99 percent of us needed any sort of reminder – why he is one of the greatest players in the history of this club by scoring the two goals Madrid so desperately needed.

The clear Man of the Match, Benzema also had a pair of key passes to go with his second-half brace, according to WhoScored.com.