Jude Bellingham`s late effort was his third goal in four La Liga appearances.

Jude Bellingham scored one and assisted another as Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga despite being held to a draw by Elche.

The England midfielder fired Kylian Mbappe`s cut-back into the net with three minutes remaining to rescue a point for Xabi Alonso`s side, who had trailed twice at the Estadio Manuel Martinez Valero.

Aleix Febas had given mid-table Elche the lead eight minutes into the second half, poking his shot past Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois and in off the right-hand post.

Former Bournemouth defender Dean Huijsen prodded home Bellingham`s knockdown to restore parity 12 minutes from time, only for Alvaro Rodriguez to put the home side back in front with a low shot from the edge of the box.

But Madrid - and Bellingham - had the final say with the 22-year-old`s third goal in his last four La Liga appearances.

Elche were reduced to 10 men in the seventh minute of added time when defender Victor Chust was sent off, picking up a second yellow card for a foul on Mbappe.

The point lifted Alonso`s team back above Barcelona, who beat Athletic Club 4-0 on Saturday in their first game back at Spotify Camp Nou, while Elche are in 11th place.

Mbappe had Madrid`s best opportunities in an entertaining first half, shooting straight at goalkeeper Inaki Pena from a tight angle after breaking clear of the home defence.

Former Liverpool defender Trent Alexander-Arnold - operating in a right wing-back role - almost set up the French striker, not long after his first chance, but Mbappe could only steer his first-time effort at Pena.

Elche had their opportunities too, with Rafa Mir firing straight at Courtois from close range and Andre da Silva having a low drive blocked by the Belgium international before the interval.

The contest continued to ebb and flow after half-time as Rodrygo`s powerful effort was palmed over the bar by Pena, before Courtois pulled off another fine stop to deny Febas.

The 29-year-old midfielder`s opener was cancelled out by Huijsen, but Rodriguez`s 84th-minute strike put Elche within touching distance of their first win over Madrid since March 1978.

However, they were denied all three points by Bellingham, who had also scored in victories over Barcelona and Valencia before the international break.

Before the game, Real Madrid issued an apology after using a picture of Elche forward da Silva in a video paying tribute to former Liverpool player Diogo Jota and his brother, Andre Silva.

Alonso`s team are next in action at Olympiacos in the Champions League on Wednesday, 26 November (20:00 GMT).