Barcelona Marcus Rashford helped Hansi Flick’s side recover from their Clasico defeat as Barcelona beat Elche 3-1 in LaLiga.
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres scored in a sharp first-half burst to put Barça in control, before Rashford added the third after the break. Rafa Mir pulled Elche back into the match before half-time, but the visitors could not turn their pressure into an equalizer.
Barça went ahead after David Affengruber’s pass was intercepted by Alejandro Balde, who carried the ball down the left and found Yamal. The forward settled himself in the area and finished into the corner for his first LaLiga goal since August.
Barcelona doubled the lead soon after another Elche error. Adrià Pedrosa slipped, allowing Fermín López to break clear and square the ball for Ferran, who finished from close range.
Elche responded in the 41st minute through Mir. Álvaro Núñez released the striker, and Mir advanced into the penalty area before placing his shot into the far corner.
Ferran nearly restored Barcelona’s two-goal cushion before the interval, but Iñaki Peña saved his effort. Rashford then had a finish ruled out for offside after the restart, keeping the score at 2-1.
Mir almost brought Elche level when his curling shot struck the top of the crossbar. Rashford then made the key intervention for Barcelona, taking a pass from Fermin near the edge of the area, beating his marker on the outside and driving a shot in off the crossbar.
Elche’s best route back remained Mir, who later hit the woodwork again after the ball dropped to him in the box. Replays showed Wojciech Szczesny got an important touch on the attempt.
Barcelona saw out the closing stages to keep pressure on Real Madrid after 11 games, while Elche were left to rue missed chances after a bright spell on either side of half-time.