Lamine Yamal and Marcus Rashford were on target as Barcelona secured a 3-1 victory over Elche in La Liga on Sunday, bouncing back from their El Clasico defeat last weekend.
Ferran Torres also found the net for the Catalan giants, who moved back into second place, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Despite the win, Barcelona’s defensive frailties persisted. Elche’s Rafa Mir scored and twice struck the woodwork as the visitors threatened an upset. The champions have now gone six consecutive league games without a clean sheet amid an ongoing injury crisis that has sidelined key players such as Pedri, Gavi, and Joan Garcia. However, Hansi Flick was able to welcome back Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo from injury.
Teenage sensation Yamal, who had struggled against Real Madrid after recovering from a groin problem, looked sharp again. “We found our spirit and intensity,” Torres told DAZN. “We’re starting to look like last season’s Barca — from the first minute to the last, we gave everything.”
Elche, led by former Barcelona assistant Eder Sarabia, approached the match boldly and impressed early on. Barca broke the deadlock in the ninth minute when Alejandro Balde’s surging run set up Yamal, who took a touch and fired clinically past former Barca goalkeeper Inaki Peña.
Flick later confirmed Yamal is still managing his groin issue. “He needs to keep training and getting treatment — it’s not completely gone, but today was a good step forward,” the coach said.
Just three minutes later, Torres doubled Barca’s advantage, finishing from close range after Fermin Lopez’s pinpoint cross. The forward revealed a shirt paying tribute to his home region of Valencia, a year after deadly floods hit Spain’s east coast.
Lopez and Rashford both came close before Rafa Mir reduced the deficit shortly before halftime, taking advantage of a high defensive line to curl a precise finish beyond Ronald Araujo and Wojciech Szczesny.
Mir continued to threaten after the break, clipping the crossbar early in the second half. But Rashford sealed the win with a composed strike from Lopez’s cross — his second league goal of the season.
“When you look at his chances, he could have scored one or two more, but we’re happy with his performance,” said Flick. “I knew he could play at this level, and I’m pleased he showed it.”
Rashford, meanwhile, admitted he could have been more clinical. “I probably made the wrong decision a few times — to shoot instead of pass — but that happens,” he said on Barca One. “My focus is on doing the right things and building connections with my teammates.”
Late on, Szczesny denied Mir again, tipping his shot onto the post to preserve Barca’s lead.
“We played our game and the fans can be proud,” said Elche coach Sarabia. “It’s normal that they scored, but we could have had a few ourselves.”
