Deportivovs
ElcheDeportivo had the lead, the crowd, and the game plan working — until it wasn't. A 76th-minute header from Marc Aguado cancelled out Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's opener and sent both sides home with a point neither will be thrilled about. Our pre-match read had Deportivo as the 44% favorite, and for most of the night that looked right — until Elche's patience finally paid off.
The Goal That Should Have Won It
Aubameyang opened the scoring in the 21st minute, finishing off a move that Lorenzo Amatucci started. It was the kind of goal that settles a crowd — clean, purposeful, and early enough to put Elche on the back foot. Riazor was loud, and Deportivo looked comfortable sitting on that lead.
Then Amatucci picked up a yellow card just before halftime, adding a layer of caution heading into the second half. Ximo Navarro had already been booked in the 26th minute, so Deportivo were managing the card situation alongside the scoreline. It made the second half feel a little tighter than it needed to be.
Elche's Grip Tightens
The numbers told the real story of how the second half developed. Elche finished with 61.3% possession, 640 passes at 90% accuracy, and 11 shots — six on target. Deportivo had 38.7% of the ball, eight shots, and only three on target. The home side was defending more than attacking, and eventually the wall broke.
Gonzalo Villar — who had been booked in the 67th minute — was the one who found Aguado in the 76th. The header was well-placed, and the goalkeeper had no real answer. Qué manera de entrar al partido, the way Elche slowly suffocated the game until the moment arrived.
Deportivo's 'keeper was busy throughout — five saves on the night — and for a long stretch it looked like those stops would be enough. They weren't.
Verdict
Deportivo will feel this one. Sitting on a lead with over half the match remaining, at home, with the crowd behind them — this was a game they were built to win. The corners tell part of the story: Elche had seven to Deportivo's two, which is not the profile of a team that was contained.
Elche, for their part, will take the draw and move on. They created enough to win it themselves, and Aguado's header was a deserved reward for a disciplined second-half performance. Their form coming in — two draws, a win, a loss, and another draw — suggests a team that grinds rather than dazzles, and cabal, that was exactly what this was.
For Deportivo, the question is whether that high foul count (17 on the night) and the card accumulation become a problem as the season builds. A draw at home against a side that came in below them in the pre-match read is not a disaster — but it's not what Riazor was hoping for when Aubameyang scored in the 21st.
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