The resounding football victory saw the defending La Liga champions move into second place in the table, five points behind arch-rivals Madrid.
Published November 2, 2025
Barcelona bounced back from last weekend’s El Clasico defeat with goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford to beat Elche 3-1 in La Liga and move into second place, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Barça continued to struggle defensively and Elche had a chance to pull off an upset on Sunday, with Rafa Mir scoring and the striker also hitting the wooden frame twice.
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Hansi Flick’s Barça side have been hit by an injury crisis and have failed to keep a clean sheet in six consecutive league games.
The champions were without the likes of Pedri, Gabi and Joao Garcia, but were able to bring in Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo after long absences.
Teenage star Lamine Yamal, who has returned from a groin problem, was underwhelming against Real Madrid last week but looked even more energetic against Elche.
Under the guidance of former Barcelona assistant coach Eder Sarabia under Quique Setién, the ninth-placed players went into the game and impressed.
Barça took the lead nine minutes later when Alejandro Balde ran forward and passed to Yamal inside the area.
The winger took a touch and set it up, finishing brilliantly past former Barça goalkeeper Inaki Pena, his teammate from last season.
Three minutes later, Torres doubled the home side’s advantage when Fermin López broke into space on the left and fed in a well-placed cross.
The striker unveiled a T-shirt that pays homage to his hometown of Valencia, one year on from the deadly floods that hit Spain’s east coast.
López and Rashford’s shots went just wide, and Pena saved Torres’ effort as Barça squandered some good chances.
Mir got his goal back just before halftime. Barça tried to catch the forward offside, but were in their own half when they were played in. Mir bent his shot and fired it past Ronald Araujo and Barça goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny at the far post.
Torres could have scored again before the interval, but Pena made a great save to safely deflect the attack.
Early in the second half, Mir hit the top of the crossbar with a curling shot as Elche put up a good fight.
Rashford scored his second league goal of the season after being crossed by López, sealing Barça’s victory with a superb finish.
Veteran goalkeeper Szczesny saved Barça from sweating out a late advantage by pushing Mir’s shot onto the post.
“It was very important to start strong and intense, and from there we were able to take the match in the direction we wanted,” Torres told DAZN.
“We knew what kind of game they were going to play, so we started very strong. After that we were a little sluggish, but in the second half we found our spirit and intensity again.”
