Photo by Angel Martínez/Getty Images
marcus rashford Came off the bench to complete the scoring. barcelona Moved four points clear at the top of LaLiga with 3-1 win elche At the Estadio Martínez Valero.
in-form Lamin Yamal Barça were put ahead early on, but Elche, who have not beaten their visitors since 1974, equalized in the 29th minute through Alvaro Rodríguez’s composed finish.
ferran torres Barcelona put Barcelona ahead again before half-time and substitute Rashford came on in the second half. RafinhaAfter this, he netted from close range in the 72nd minute. adam boyar A golden opportunity to bring Elche back to level was missed.
Barcelona, who came from behind to beat Copenhagen in midweek and book their place in the last 16 of the Champions League, gave themselves a cushion. real Madrid However their arch rivals may reduce the gap to one point if they contest rayo vallecano On Sunday.
It looked as if Barcelona would be on the attack here as Yamal scored for the third consecutive game in the sixth minute, the 18-year-old latching onto Dani Olmo’s ball through the middle. iñaki pena And got trapped in an empty net.
Torres drilled wide and Olmo hit the crossbar after Yamal’s lay-off, but just before the half-hour Barcelona went behind when Rodriguez headed behind. eric garcia And finished the goalkeeper calmly john garcia.
Barcelona moved forward once again and Torres saw a shot cannon off the crossbar and deflect off his face before inadvertently hitting the post.
However, Torres fired high into the net in the 40th minute after a cutback frankie de jongWho went around Elche goalkeeper Pena, but some covering defenders blocked his path to the goal.
Barcelona’s lead was maintained by one goal at half-time. Victor Chast Cleared off the line to deny Torres a second chance, although Elche showed they remain a threat after the restart rodrigo mendoza The ball was in the back of the net and was flagged for offside.
Boyer missed a brilliant chance after being caught off-guard when he was fouled Martim NetoWho showed some skillful footwork inside the field before getting the ball out.
This proved to be a costly miss as Rashford, moments after firing a shot very short, hit the roof of the net following a low cross from Yamal, who did an excellent job of controlling a high ball on the right before turning his way into the area and providing an assist. England Ahead.