Barcelona bounced back from their loss in El Clásico by defeating Elche 3-1 at the Montjuic Olympic Stadium on Sunday. Goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres, and Marcus Rashford guided the defending La Liga champions back into second place in the standings with 25 points. This victory keeps them within five points of leaders Real Madrid, who had temporarily extended their lead to seven points with a win on Saturday.
The hosts wasted no time securing an early advantage, capitalizing on two quick defensive errors by Elche. Lamine Yamal broke the deadlock in the ninth minute, collecting a pass from Alejandro Balde before brilliantly cutting inside and firing a left-footed shot into the top corner. This was a huge boost for the 18-year-old, marking his first La Liga goal since August 31.
Just two minutes later, an Elche defensive slip allowed Fermin Lopez to cross for Ferran Torres, who easily tapped the ball into the net to double Barcelona’s lead. Torres' goal was his 50th for Barcelona in all competitions across 170 appearances.
Elche managed to halve the deficit right before the break when Rafa Mir capitalized on a quick counter-attack, brilliantly curling a shot past Wojciech Szczesny and into the far post. Mir, who was active throughout the match, nearly equalized in the second half but struck the crossbar with a shot in the 55th minute.
However, the visitors' hopes were ultimately extinguished in the 61st minute when Marcus Rashford extended the home side’s lead. The on-loan England forward collected a pass from Fermin Lopez and crashed a fierce effort in off the underside of the crossbar, scoring his fifth goal since joining the club.
Despite falling behind again, Elche continued to fight, with Mir rattling the woodwork for the second time in the 67th minute, requiring a vital touch from goalkeeper Szczesny. Barcelona’s victory, however, was built on individual quality, with Rashford having 11 goal involvements (six goals, five assists) this season, a figure only bettered by Kylian Mbappé (20) and Julian Álvarez (12) among La Liga players.
The win also allowed Flick to bring on returning players, including Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo, following spells out injured. Ferran Torres spoke of the team's strong start: “It was very important to start strong and intense. From there, we could take the game where we wanted it to go.”