La Liga: Barcelona Bounces Back with 3-1 Victory Over Elche
FC Barcelona rebounded from last weekend’s Clasico defeat with a convincing 3-1 win over Elche in LaLiga on Sunday. Goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Marcus Rashford propelled the Catalan giants back into second place, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points.
Barcelona, still grappling with defensive vulnerabilities, saw Elche threaten to cause an upset. Striker Rafa Mir managed to score for the visitors and came close on two other occasions, hitting the woodwork twice. Despite an injury crisis sidelining key players like Pedri, Gavi, and Joan Garcia, the return of Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo provided a boost to the squad.
After a lackluster performance in the Clasico, teenage sensation Yamal showed renewed energy against Elche. He opened the scoring just nine minutes into the match, finishing with precision after being set up by Alejandro Balde. Torres quickly doubled Barcelona’s lead, tapping in from close range after a brilliant cross from Fermin Lopez.
In a tribute to his home region affected by last year’s flooding, Torres revealed a t-shirt during his celebration. Barcelona continued to create opportunities, with Lopez and Rashford both narrowly missing the target, while Elche’s goalkeeper, Inaki Pena, made key saves to keep his team in the game.
Mir pulled one back for Elche just before halftime, bending a shot past Ronald Araujo and Barcelona’s Wojciech Szczesny, making it 2-1. The visitors continued to press, with Mir hitting the crossbar early in the second half, signaling their intent to fight for an equalizer.
However, Rashford sealed Barcelona’s victory in the 74th minute with a well-placed finish following a cross from Lopez, marking his second league goal of the season. Despite a late scare when Szczesny deflected a Mir effort onto the post, Barcelona held firm to secure the win.
Elche’s attacking approach was praised by their coach, Eder Sarabia, a former Barcelona assistant. He expressed pride in his team’s performance, noting that while conceding goals is part of their game, they had opportunities to score themselves.
