Barcelona, who recovered from last weekend’s Clasico defeat, defeated Elche 3-1 on Sunday in La Liga with the goals of Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford.
The Catalan giants, who now lead Real Madrid by five points, also hit on Ferran Torres’ goal.
Elche had opportunities to cause an upset for Barca when Rafa Mir scored twice, and the striker also hit the woodwork twice.
In the midst of an injury crisis, Hansi Flick’s Barca have struggled to keep a clean sheet in six league games.
Following brief absences from action, the champions were able to add Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, among others.
After recovering from a groin issue, Yamal, a teen star, performed better in last week’s defeat by Real Madrid, but he appeared more confident in front of Elche.
According to Torres, “we found our spirit and intensity.”
“From the very beginning, we gave everything,” said the manager, “I believe we’re finding last year’s Barca, and we’ll continue to do that.”
The ninth-placed visitors impressed when Eder Sarabia, a former Barcelona assistant coach under Quique Setien, led them to the field.
Alejandro Balde fed Yamal in the area after nine minutes and Barca took the lead.
Inaki Pena, a team-mate of his last season, was the winger who took a little time to set himself before firing a clinical finish past the former Barca goalkeeper.
Flick claimed that Yamal still needed work on because of his groin injury.
He must train, undergo treatments, and do this, and he did it, according to Flick. It’s a positive step forward.
He has to manage it, and I can’t say it’s over; it’s coming and going like this.
After Fermin Lopez broke into space down the left and delivered an inch-perfect cross, Torres doubled the hosts’ lead three minutes later.
A year after the deadly flooding that hit Spain’s east coast, the striker revealed a t-shirt honoring Valencia, his hometown.
As Barca wasted some valuable chances, Lopez and Rashford missed the mark with a penalty save from Pena.
Shortly before half-time, Mir pulled a goal back after being charged with sexual assault allegations dating back to 2024.
Barca attempted to play the forward offside, but he was playing in his own half. At the far post, Mir bent a shot past Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny and Ronald Araujo.
Before the break, Torres might have scored again, but Pena saved his strike with a superb save.
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As Elche battled well in the second half, Mir curled an effort to hit the top of the crossbar.
After Lopez sent him off with a cross, Rashford scored his second league goal of the campaign with a superb finish to seal Barca’s victory.
One or two goals more would be nice, Flick said, but we can be happy for him based on his chances.
“I was very pleased that he showed me that he could play this level.”
In the final third, Rashford acknowledged that he had potential to be even better.
He told the club’s streaming service Barca One, “I could have had more assists or goals, sometimes the decision-making was wrong today. But I am going to have days like this.”
“My focus is with the team, to build relationships, and feel comfortable,” I said, “but if I’m doing the right thing, I know I’ll always be able to score and assist.”
Szczesny, a veteran goalkeeper, pushed a Mir effort past the post to save Barca, who had already gotten too excited about their final advantage.
The fans are proud of how they played, according to Elche coach Sarabia.
We are aware that they can score goals for us, but we could also.
