The Blaugrana made some beautiful plays in the victory at home…
Barcelona extended their unbeaten run against Elche to 22 games with a 3-1 victory at the Olympic Stadium.
The result also marked their ninth consecutive victory over the visitors, maintaining their longest unbeaten record against a La Liga team.
Elche started the match brightly, keeping possession well and pressing high in the opening minutes, but their initial confidence was ruined by some crucial defensive errors.
In the ninth minute, a misplaced pass allowed Alejandro Balde to run down the left and find Lamine Yamal inside the area. The teenager cut inside with his left foot and found the far corner to make it 1-0.
Just two minutes later, Barcelona doubled their lead. Fermín López took advantage of a slip by Adriá Pedrosa, burst into the area and squared the ball for Ferran Torres to take advantage of from close range.
The two quick goals seemed to give the hosts complete control, although their pace dropped as the half progressed.
Elche, it must be admitted, refused to give in. Rafa Mir continued to be a constant threat and got his reward three minutes before the break when Álvaro Núñez gave him a pass.
The forward turned towards Ronald Araujo before slotting past Wojciech Szczesny to get the visitors back into the game.
Barcelona still went into half-time with a lead, but there was work to do after a half in which they conceded 10 first-half goals in their last 11 league games.
Rashford regains control
The second half began with more energy from Elche, who were about to equalize when Mir hit the post after a quick counterattack.
However, Barcelona soon regained their composure. Rashford, who was lively throughout the match, sealed the victory in the 61st minute.
López played a smart pass to the England international, who beat Pedrosa and unleashed a powerful shot that hit the crossbar to make it 3-1.
From there, Hansi Flick’s team managed the match in a professional manner. Dani Olmo returned from injury and Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to a warm reception as Barcelona looked to close out the victory.
Elche enjoyed brief spells of possession but lacked the cutting edge to test Szczesny again.
