Madrid

Jude Bellingham’s 87th minute equaliser rescued Real Madrid from defeat at Elche as Los Blancos return to top of ladder.

Jude Bellingham struck late on to secure Real Madrid a 2-2 draw at Elche on Sunday, taking his team top of La Liga by a point.

Xabi Alonso’s side struggled against their mid-table opponents in an entertaining battle in which Madrid twice came from behind.

Aleix Febas fired the hosts ahead before Dean Huijsen levelled for the league leaders, with Bellingham stabbing home from close range after Alvaro Rodriguez blasted Elche back in front.

Barcelona cut Madrid’s lead by two points over the weekend after they thrashed Athletic Bilbao 4-0 on Saturday in their first match back at Camp Nou.

Alonso afforded Rodrygo Goes a rare start as part of the attack, while benching Vinicius Junior. The coach also gave Trent Alexander-Arnold his first start since August.

The England international missed several weeks injured and is yet to find form following his summer switch from Liverpool.

Alexander-Arnold was also partly to blame for Febas’s goal, with the midfielder sneaking in behind him to break the deadlock in the second half.

Elche sets the tone

Elche impressed against Barcelona a few weeks ago and gave Madrid a tough night at the Martinez Valero stadium.

Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a fine early save to deny Andre da Silva after Hector Fort teed him up.

The forward was involved in an unfortunate incident earlier in the day at Real Madrid’s annual general meeting, when Los Blancos displayed his photograph by accident in a tribute to former Liverpool striker Diogo Jota and his brother Andre Silva, who both died in a car crash in July.

Former Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena denied Kylian Mbappe after the French forward broke through on goal and then stopped the French superstar’s volley in Madrid’s best chance of the first half.

Elche stunned Madrid early in the second half with a slick move to take the lead.

German Valera’s superb backheel allowed Febas to dart behind Alexander-Arnold and squeeze a shot across the goal, past Courtois and in off the post.

Alonso responded by sending on Vinicius Jr and then young striker Gonzalo Garcia. Alexander-Arnold earned some redemption with his contribution to Madrid’s equaliser.

His cross was deflected against his own crossbar by a defender and behind for a corner. Alexander-Arnold whipped it in and Bellingham flicked it on into Huijsen’s path to bash home.

Elche took the lead again when Rodriguez caught out Courtois with a powerful drive from the edge of the box.

However, three minutes later Madrid equalised for a second time, with Mbappe only just keeping the ball in for Bellingham to convert from point-blank range.

The England midfielder was in the spotlight back home earlier in the week after he was unhappy to be taken off by national team coach Thomas Tuchel.

Bellingham was not at his best against Elche but was involved in both Madrid goals, highlighting his game-changing ability in the box even when otherwise quiet.

Spain has got a host of cities flooded with tourists every year, but fans of a small yet walkable city are missing out on one city located in the south of the country.

Spain is a firm favourite among Brits, with over 17 million of us flocking to its sunny shores last year, particularly to big cities such Barcelona and Madrid.

But now, travel gurus are singing the praises of another Spanish city that’s been crowned Europe’s most walkable.

Airport transfer experts at Hoppa have put together a list of Europe’s top cities for pedestrians. Seville takes the top spot, followed closely by Athens, Istanbul, Krakow, and Amsterdam.

They point out that you can tick off all the Spanish city’s major sights in just 30 minutes.

Located in the south of Spain, close to the legendary Costa del Sol, the tourist hotspot sees temperatures rise to an average high of 36°C each day in summer.

But despite the cultural heritage of the city and its location to gorgeous landscapes, it is often forgotten by many tourists flocking to sun-soaked Spain.

The walking route through Seville, which showcases stunning architecture like the Cathedral and winds through Parque de María Luisa, is a mere 2km (1.2 miles) long and almost entirely flat, with a total elevation of just 3m.

One of the city’s standout landmarks is the Cathedral of Saint Mary of the See, better known as Seville Cathedral, which was built on the site of the 12th-century Great Mosque, converted into a church after Ferdinand III took Seville in 1248.

Just a stone’s throw from the cathedral is the historic royal palace, the Alcázar of Seville. Like the Cathedral, this building hails from the city’s Islamic era when it served as the citadel; after the Castillian conquest, it was rebuilt in the Mudéjar style.

Both the cathedral and castle were recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site in 1987, along with the nearby General Archive of the Indies, dating back to the 1500s. Other must-see landmarks include the Torre del Oro Tower, or Gold Tower, which forms part of the city walls.

Locals often recommend the Giralda Tower, a belltower that was once the old minaret of the Arab mosque, and the traditionally Andalusian 15th century Casa de Pilatos House. Speaking on the results of their study, Matthew Hall, Managing Director at Hoppa, said the results were shocking to them.

“Our ranking showed that some places are more suitable to be explored on foot than others, so doing your research before booking your flights is essential so you can properly enjoy your city break. Seville is a great alternative to the more popular Spanish city destinations Barcelona and Madrid. You can visit the top sites in less than 30 minutes.”

Matthew added: “Even though you will mostly walk when you arrive, don’t forget about getting to the city from the airport first. Booking an airport transfer in advance ensures peace of mind so you can focus on other tasks like planning your walking routes instead.”

Highlighting Seville’s walkability, Spain.info writes: “Even though Seville has the biggest old town in Spain, it is easy to get around on foot. However, you also have the choice of hopping on a tourist bus or using the public bicycle rental service (there are more than 180 kilometres of cycle lanes); you can also sail down the Guadalquivir, the only navigable estuary in Spain.”

The full top 20 of Europe’s most walkable cities are:

1. Seville
2. Athens
3. Istanbul
4. Krakow
5. Amsterdam
6. Milan
7. Berlin
8. Copenhagen
9. Tallinn
10. Cologne
11. Stockholm
12. Prague
13. Vienna
14. Bucharest
15. Hamburg
16. Valencia
17. Florence
18. Nice
19. Dublin
20. Paris

BBC Sport pundit Nedum Onuoha and tactics correspondent Umir Irfan join Sam Harris to discuss Trent Alexander-Arnold’s tough return to Anfield with Real Madrid.

READ MORE: Liverpool ‘back to their best’ as they dominate Real Madrid

WATCH: On-the-whistle reaction on BBC iPlayer

Warnock said: “There is a great player in Conor Bradley, but he needs to stay fit and get a run of games to build up a relationship with Salah. These things can take time, even with the best players.

“Trent leaving has had an impact on Salah. Their partnership, if not exactly unnoticed, was almost taken as read. Yes, they are world-class individuals, but it was also a partnership.

“They really complemented each other. Trent could go inside, draw people towards him, which freed up more space for Salah. And when Salah drove at people he had the ability to feed Trent because teams were backing off.”

Alexander-Arnold’s comfort in possession with his fellow defenders, plus the ability to move into midfield, means his presence is also sorely missed elsewhere.

Warnock said: “I think Ibrahima Konate probably misses him as well. He knew he could give Trent the ball under pressure. I think it is having an impact on the right-hand side of the pitch, both in defence and attack.

“Liverpool also created a box system in the centre of midfield, which they did so well, when Trent was in the side.

“There was a lot of praise given to Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, but Trent was a big part of that as well. Losing that extra body in the midfield area, when he was in there, is also missed because opponents were drawn to him, fearful of what he could create.”

Jeremie Frimpong, signed in a £29m deal from Bayer Leverkusen to compete with Bradley for the place vacated by Alexander-Arnold, has had his Anfield start curtailed by hamstring injuries.

Warnock said: “The biggest issue with Frimpong is not only injuries, but what is his best position? At Bayer Leverkusen he spent a lot of time as a right wing-back.”

Dominant football win moves defending La Liga champions to second place in the standings, five adrift of archrivals Madrid.

Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford struck for Barcelona as they earned a 3-1 win over Elche in La Liga to bounce back from last weekend’s El Clasico defeat and move back into second place to trail leaders Real Madrid by five points.

Barca continued to struggle in defence and Elche had chances to cause an upset on Sunday, scoring through Rafa Mir, with the striker also twice hitting the woodwork.

Hansi Flick’s Barca have failed to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive league games, in the midst of an injury crisis.

The champions were missing Pedri, Gavi, and Joan Garcia among others, but were able to bring on Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo following spells out of action.

Teenage star Lamine Yamal underwhelmed in last week’s defeat by Real Madrid after coming back from a groin issue, but looked more spritely against Elche.

Coached by Eder Sarabia, a former Barcelona assistant coach under Quique Setien, the ninth-placed visitors came to play and impressed.

Barca took the lead after nine minutes when Alejandro Balde drove forward and fed Yamal in the area.

The winger took a touch to set himself and then whipped a clinical finish past former Barca goalkeeper Inaki Pena, a teammate of his last season.

Three minutes later, Torres doubled the hosts’ advantage, tapping home after Fermin Lopez broke into space down the left and provided an inch-perfect cross.

The striker revealed a T-shirt paying tribute to Valencia, his home region, a year on from the deadly flooding that hit Spain’s east coast.

Lopez and Rashford fired narrowly off-target while Pena saved from Torres as Barca squandered some presentable chances.

Mir pulled a goal back shortly before half-time. Barca tried to catch the forward offside, but he was in his own half when he was played in. Mir bent a shot past Ronald Araujo and Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and in at the far post.

Torres might have scored again before the interval, but Pena produced a superb save to tip his strike to safety.

Early in the second half, Mir clipped the top of the crossbar with a curling effort as Elche battled well.

Rashford sealed Barca’s victory with a superb finish after Lopez picked him out with a cross, for his second league goal of the campaign.

Veteran goalkeeper Szczesny pushed a Mir effort onto the post to save Barca sweating over their advantage in the final stages.

“It was very important to start strong and intense. From there, we could take the game where we wanted it to go,” Torres told DAZN.

“We knew the type of game they were going to play, and we started very strong. We were a bit off afterwards, but we found our spirit and our intensity again in the second half.”