Yamal, Rashford on target as Barcelona beat Elche to extend La Liga lead
Marcus Rashford found the net again as Barcelona extended their lead at the summit of La Liga to four points with an away victory over Elche.
Match Report
The defending champions struck early, opening the scoring in the sixth minute when Dani Olmo slipped a through ball to Lamine Yamal, who rounded Elche goalkeeper Inaki Pena and rolled the ball into an unguarded net.
Elche, who have not beaten Barcelona since December 1974, drew level after 29 minutes as Alvaro Rodriguez broke through the visitors’ high defensive line and finished coolly into the far corner.
Barcelona regained the advantage 11 minutes later when Ferran Torres rifled Frenkie De Jong’s cut-back into the top of the net.
Rashford, on loan from Manchester United, was introduced at half-time and made an immediate impact, tapping in Barcelona’s third after Yamal delivered a low cross across the face of goal.
The goal marked Rashford’s 10th of the campaign and his second in consecutive matches, following his strike against Copenhagen in the Champions League earlier in the week.
Barcelona dominated proceedings and carved out numerous opportunities.
Olmo struck the woodwork early on, and with the score tied at 1-1, Torres hit the crossbar twice—first with his foot and then with a header from the rebound.
Just before half-time, Torres rounded the goalkeeper, only for Elche defender Victor Chust to clear his effort off the line.
The win represented Barcelona’s 15th victory in their last 16 matches across all competitions.
The result increases the pressure on second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand and could reduce Barcelona’s lead to one point when they host city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday (13:00 GMT).
