Barcelona moved four points clear at the top of La Liga after a hard-fought 3-1 victory against Elche at the Estadio Martínez Valero. Despite dominating the shot count with an incredible 30 attempts, Hansi Flick’s side had to work for the points after the hosts briefly threatened an upset.
The deadlock was broken just six minutes in. Dani Olmo, filling in for the injured Pedri, threaded a perfect pass to Lamine Yamal. The teenager showed veteran composure to round former Barca keeper Iñaki Peña and slot into an empty net for his 13th goal of the season.
Elche, led by former Barca assistant Eder Sarabia, refused to sit back. They found an equalizer in the 29th minute when Álvaro Rodríguez exploited a high defensive line to fire past Joan García. The visitors responded with a chaotic sequence where Ferran Torres hit both the bar and the post in a single move, but Torres eventually made amends in the 40th minute, smashing home a clever cut-back from Frenkie de Jong.
The result was finally put beyond doubt in the 72nd minute. Marcus Rashford, who had replaced the injured Raphinha at half-time, capitalized on a deflected Lamine Yamal cross to blast the ball into the roof of the net, sealing his 10th goal of the campaign.
What It Means: This win piles the pressure on Real Madrid ahead of their clash with Rayo Vallecano. For Elche, despite the loss, their brave performance reinforces their mid-table stability since returning to the top flight.