Jesús Gil Manzano has been appointed as the referee for Elche CF's La Liga match against Real Madrid on Tuesday at the Martínez Valero stadium. The fixture, part of the sixth matchday, will have Raúl Martín González as the VAR official.
The referee's history with the Madrid side is overwhelmingly positive. Gil Manzano has taken charge of 51 Real Madrid matches, with the team recording 42 wins, 6 draws, and just 3 losses under his watch. Crucially, Real Madrid have not lost a game with him as referee since 2020, a run that now stretches to 22 consecutive matches without defeat.
For Elche, the statistics tell a much tougher story. In the eight Primera División matches Gil Manzano has refereed involving Elche, the team has managed just one win, two draws, and five defeats. The last Elche match he officiated was the 4-1 thrashing at the Bernabéu last season. "He already knows what it's like to referee Elche-Real Madrid." the referee himself recalled. He added, "Later, he refereed a match between the two teams at the Bernabéu, last season, which ended with a Real Madrid rout of 4-1."
The challenge for Elche is enormous, not only because of the referee's record but due to their own predicament. The team enters the match sitting 19th in La Liga, with only two points from a possible 15 after five games. Their recent form reads DLLLD, including a 1-1 draw with Athletic Club last time out, where top scorer Fer Niño, with two goals this term, failed to find the net.
With Adam Boayar on the injured list and an urgent need for three points, Elche face a severe test. The squad aims to break a poor run of results against a top-tier rival and a referee who, on paper, does not favour them. The match kicks off on Tuesday night at the Martínez Valero, with the home side trying to change their fortunes in the league table.
More detail at Mundo Deportivo
