Elche gets first win in Spanish league at 20th try

Elche ended its excruciatingly long wait for a win in the Spanish league when Villarreal was beaten 31 after Pere Milla scored a hat trick before he was carried off on a stretcherLastplaced Elche a modest club from southern Spain endured the entire first half of the league without a single winThe victory finally came in Round 20 against a Villarreal side that beat Real Madrid last month and is fighting for a Champions League berthMeanwhile Atletico Madrid conceded a late penalty and was held by relegationthreatened Getafe to 11Elche playing under its third coach of the campaign will still need a major turnaround to avoid relegation It has just nine points and sits 11 points from safetyAnything is possible Elche goalkeeper Eacutedgar Badia said of his teams hopes of staying in the topflight for a fourth consecutive season Our mentality is game by game and not look far ahead It is not time to think about the pastMilla playing in his fourth season at Elche was injured after his treble and was taken off on a stretcher in the 58th minute with a suspected broken collarboneMilla opened the scoring when he fired a deflected ball past Pepe Reina three minutes after kickoff in ElcheGerard Moreno equalized in the 22nd with his eighth goal across all competitions from a pass by Aacutelex BaenaBut Milla converted two penalties in the 48th and 52nd to ensure the 18000 fans who turned out could finally have a reason to celebrate The spectators did the wave at Martinez Valero Stadium in the final minutes Elche player Omar Mascarell wept from reliefI havent been here that long but I know the players and the club workers and of course our fans who never abandoned us who believed this win would come This is for them said manager Pablo Machiacuten who took over in NovemberAlso readVinicius miraculously escapes injury after horrific tackle Madrid back in La Liga title raceVillarreal stayed in fifth place after a second straight lossWe made too many mistakes and when you do that you pay for it Villarreal defender Rauacutel Albiol said It was a bad day for the entire team They played harder than we did so they are the rightful winnersATLETICO HELDAtletico was in control until Sauacutel Ntildeiacuteguez gave away the penalty when a cross hit his flaying arm in the areaGetafe striker Enes Unal rifled the spot kick past Jan Oblak for the 83rdminute equalizerAacutengel Correa opened in the 60th His goal was initially waived off for offside but a video review overruled the referees decision Correa was substituted by that point so his Atletico teammates rushed into the dugout to celebrate with himGetafes first point of 2023 ended a run of four consecutive league losses for Quique Saacutenchez Flores teamFourthplaced Atletico was left four points clear of Villarreal and Real Betis which also stumbledSHOOTOUT IN SEVILLECelta Vigo midfielder Gabri Veiga scored twice to help win a hightempo 43 thriller over Real Betis in SevilleAided by the sharp passing of Carles Peacuterez Iago Aspas and Luca de la Torre Celta got its most impressive win of an otherwise difficult seasonBetis Luiz Felipe was sent off for a brush with Aspas in the final minutes setting off a brief scuffle between the teamsAlso Espanyol came back to draw at home with Osasuna 11This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever