Barcelona bounced back from their Clasico defeat with a 3-1 victory over Elche at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, keeping pace with La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford ensured Hansi Flick’s side climbed back to second in the table, five points behind their archrivals.
Despite the comfortable scoreline, the champions were again far from secure at the back. Elche, coached by former Barça assistant Eder Sarabia, created several good chances and found the net through Rafa Mir, who also struck the woodwork twice.
Barcelona began sharply and took the lead in the ninth minute. Alejandro Balde surged down the left and picked out Yamal inside the box, with the 17-year-old curling a precise finish past former Barça goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.
Just three minutes later, the hosts doubled their advantage. Fermin López broke free on the left and squared the ball for Torres to tap in from close range. The forward celebrated by revealing a shirt paying tribute to victims of the devastating floods that struck his home region of Valencia a year ago.
Barça continued to press, with López and Rashford both going close, while Peña denied Torres with a fine save to keep the scoreline respectable.
Elche reduced the deficit before half-time when Mir latched onto a long pass and struck low past Wojciech Szczęsny, leaving the home defence flat-footed. The visitors threatened again early in the second half as Mir clipped the crossbar with a curling effort.
However, Barcelona reasserted control, and Rashford made sure of the points midway through the second half. López provided the assist once again, crossing for the England forward to volley home his second league goal of the season.
Szczęsny was called into action late on, tipping another Mir effort onto the post to prevent a nervy finish.
Hansi Flick’s men remain plagued by injuries, with Pedri, Gavi and Joan García all sidelined, but there were positives as Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo returned from lay-offs. Yamal also looked sharper after struggling in the Clasico, showing flashes of his early-season brilliance.
“It was very important to start strong and intense,” Torres told DAZN after the match. “We knew how they would play, and once we imposed our rhythm again in the second half, we controlled the game.”
