La Liga: Real Madrid Force Draw With Elche, Benzema Off Injured

La Liga leader Real Madrid drop points on Sunday by drawing 2-2 at home to Elche as Karim Benzema missed a penalty and then went off injured at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It could have been even worse for Madrid, who were two down with 11 minutes left yet managed to rescue a point thanks to a Luka Modric penalty and a 92nd-minute header from Eder Militao.

Lucas Boye and Pere Milla had put Elche in sight of a shock victory.

But two dropped points against a team fighting for survival this season will have come as a welcome bonus for Sevilla, who would have expected to be punished for their own draw at home to Celta Vigo on Saturday.

Benzema's injury is perhaps the biggest concern. The Frenchman was clutching his left hamstring as he walked down the tunnel in the second half. Madrid will hope it is nothing serious, with their Champions League first leg against Paris Saint-Germain just over three weeks away.

It completed a miserable afternoon for Benzema, who had missed his first penalty as a Real Madrid player after scoring all of his previous 16.

Sevilla also came from two down to claim a 2-2 draw on Saturday before Atletico Madrid went one better, recovering from a two-goal deficit to beat Valencia 3-2 on a weekend of comebacks.

It means the gap between Sevilla in second and Real Madrid is back to four points and both sides perhaps end the weekend with a sense of an opportunity missed.

Eden Hazard was given his own opportunity after Carlo Ancelotti handed him a rare start and while the Belgian was certainly one of Madrid's more creative players, he went off in the 79th minute, just before his team's revival began.

Before kick-off, all of Madrid's players came out wearing number 11 shirts in tribute to Paco Gento, who died aged 88 on Tuesday. On display were Gento's 12 league trophies and six European Cups.