Barcelona reduce the margin of Real Madrid’s LALIGA win to five points with a 3-1 victory over Elche.
Barcelona were their usual defensively frail selves, but they look to be regaining their offensive potency, which helped them to a 3-1 victory against an impressive Elche side.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring in the 9th minute and Ferran Torres doubled the lead three minutes later. Barcelona looked set to run their opponents tagged, but Elche pulled one back through Rafa Mir before the end of the half.
Marcus Rashford restored the two-goal advantage in the second-half, finally getting his goal after multiple shots. With the win, the Blaugrana go back within five points of Real Madrid.
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Key match details
Barcelona started on the front foot and struck just nine minutes into the game. From a through-ball by Alejandro Balde, after the left back made a driving run into the final third. Lamine Yamal cut inside and finished off a left-footed strike into the far corner.
The hosts doubled their lead in the 11th minute when Ferrán Torres capitalised on a defensive error in Elche’s backline and finished from inside the box, with the assist coming from Fermin Lopez.
Despite the early two-goal cushion, Elche remained dangerous and pulled one back just before half-time in the 41st minute when Rafa Mir beat Barcelona’s offside trap and beat Wojciech Szczesny.
After the break, Barcelona retained control but allowed Elche more room as the visitors pressed for an equaliser.
The match-deciding moment came in the 61st minute when Rashford, after a cross-field pass from Fermin Lopez, drove into the box and slotted the ball into the roof of the net.
Both teams had more chances to improve the scoreline, but it remained the same, as Barcelona got a crucial victory ahead of the UCL clash against Club Brugge in the Champions League.
