By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Barcelona beat Elche 3-1 on Sunday night in La Liga thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford, which helped the team to bounce back from last weekend’s Clasico defeat.
The hosts took the lead in the ninth minute when Alejandro Balde intercepted a wayward pass, before setting up Yamal, who curled in a super finish from 10 yards out.
It was 2-0 three minutes later when Torres tapped in Fermin Lopez’s inch-perfect pass as Barca scored from both of their shots on target.
Elche reduced their arrears in the 42nd minute when Rafa Mir rifled in a delightful shot into the corner. Mir then fizzed an excellent effort off the crossbar early in the second half as the Blaugrana held a slender lead.
But Rashford eased Barcelona’s nerves when he walloped a shot in off the bar just after the hour mark for his second La Liga goal.
Barcelona’s victory stretched their home record against Elche in La Liga to 25 matches without defeat, winning 18 of them.
The result also saw the Catalan outfit cut table-toppers Real Madrid’s lead to five points after the latter cruised to a 4-0 win over Valencia on Saturday.