He FC Barcelonadefeated by real Madrid a week ago in the Clásico, they returned to the right track by winning 3-1 against Elche in Montjuic, this Sunday in the 11th matchday of LaLiga, where they once again placed second.
Lamine Yamal (9′) and Ferran Torres (11′) They took advantage of the defensive errors of the Elche team, who stayed alive thanks to Rafa Mir’s goal (42′) on the stroke of half-time and the performances of former Barça goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.
Already in the second half, Englishman Marcus Rashford (61′) sent a torpedo against the opponent’s goal to certify the victory of the Blaugrana team before visiting Bruges in the Champions League on Wednesday.
With this victory, Barça increased its score in the table to 25, five less than the leader Real Madrid, which beat Valencia 4-0 on Saturday at the Santiago Bernabéu, and two more than Villarreal (3rd), which also beat Rayo Vallecano 4-0 at La Cerámica.
Hansi Flick’s men entered in steamroller mode, exerting intense pressure, stealing from the opposing half and making quick transitions, which caused flagrant failures by Eder Sarabia’s men.
After high pressure, Alejandro Balde took possession of the ball to advance diagonally and give the ball to Yamal, who cut his marker to send it into the back of the goal (9′).
Moments later, in a similar play, Fermín López snatched a ball to assist Ferran, who scored in the goal (11′).
The Valencian player celebrated his goal by showing a shirt in memory of the 229 fatalities from the floods in the Valencia region a year ago.
At that moment, euphoria took over the Blaugranas, who lowered their concentration while continuing with the defense line very advanced.
Aware of the risk that the Barça defense was assuming, Sarabia sent his attackers to look for the sides, which led to Mir’s goal (42′).
Ronald Araujo broke the offside so that the Murcian striker received the ball and, in front of the Uruguayan, finished close to the right post of Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
“We ate the grass”
In the second half, the culé team entered the grass with more impetus, but the clearest opportunity was wasted by Mir who crashed his shot against the crossbar.
Then, Marc Casadó accompanied Fermín from his field who was close to the right touchline, but he sent a powerful pass to Rashford. The Briton skillfully created space and launched a shot that hit the crossbar before heading in (61′).
True to their style, Barcelona continued to press high, which caused Ferran to steal the ball and pass it to Yamal (79) located on the penalty spot. However, the young winger sent him through the roof.
“We are finding the Barça of last year. Where from the first minute we ate the grass,” Ferran declared to Movistar+.
“We came out very well. Then we were wrong, but we found our spirit and intensity,” stressed the Barça attacker.
In other matches of the day, Celta (12th) beat Levante (17th) 2-1 in the Ciutat de València, while Alavés (8th) beat Espanyol (5th) 2-1 in Mendizorroza.
