BARCELONA (Reuters) -Goals from Lamine Yamal, Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford guided Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Elche on Sunday, propelling the defending LaLiga champions to second place in the standings with 25 points, five adrift of leaders Real Madrid.
Looking to bounce back after their 2-1 loss to Real in last weekend's El Clasico, Barcelona wasted no time in asserting their dominance at Montjuic Olympic Stadium.
They made the most of two defensive errors by Elche in the opening minutes to grab a two-goal lead with strikes by Yamal and Torres in the ninth and 11th minutes.
The first came when David Affengruber's errant pass was intercepted by Alejandro Balde. The left back surged forward and delivered a precise through ball to Yamal, who showed exceptional composure, cutting inside before unleashing a left-footed shot into the top corner.
It was Yamal's first goal in LaLiga since August 31 and was a much-needed boost for the 18-year-old after weeks of struggling with a lingering groin injury.
Two minutes later, Elche right back Adria Pedrosa slipped while attempting to control the ball in his own half and Fermin Lopez capitalised, pouncing on the loose ball and racing to the byline before delivering a low cross into the six-yard box, where Torres was on hand to tap the ball into the net, doubling Barcelona's advantage.
Rafa Mir reduced the deficit, scoring from a quick counter right before the break and he nearly equalised in the 55th minute when he struck the crossbar with a powerful shot from a tight angle.
However, the visitors' hopes of a comeback were dashed in the 61st minute when Rashford extended the home side's lead with a great finish from inside the box that went in off the crossbar.
Elche continued to fight and went close to narrowing the deficit again in the 67th minute, with Mir rattling the woodwork for the second time in the match.
Despite the visitors' efforts, Barcelona maintained control in the closing stages to secure three valuable points.
"It was very important to start strong and intense. From there, we could take the game where we wanted it to go," Torres told DAZN.
"We knew the type of game they were going to play and we started very strong. We were a bit off afterwards, but we found our spirit and our intensity again in the second half."
(Reporting by Fernando KallasEditing by Toby Davis)
