Barcelona Secures Victory Over Elche with Rashford's Goal
Marcus Rashford scored for Barcelona as they rebounded from their El Clasico defeat with a victory over Elche in La Liga.
Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres put Hansi Flick's side in control before Rafa Mir pulled one back for the visitors.
Rashford's goal in the 61st minute secured the win, moving Barcelona back to second place, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.
Elche initially had the ball in the net, but their celebrations were cut short by an offside call.
From that point onward, Barcelona took charge of the match. Yamal received a pass from Alejandro Balde, cut onto his left foot, and brilliantly fired into the far corner to open the scoring in the ninth minute.
Two minutes later, the hosts doubled their lead when Fermin Lopez capitalized on a mistake by Adria Pedrosa, crossing for Torres to tap into an empty net.
Elche reduced the deficit three minutes before halftime, with Mir breaking the offside trap and curling a shot into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.
Rashford appeared to have scored early in the second half, but his goal was disallowed due to an offside in the buildup involving Fermin.
However, the England international soon found the net, collecting a pass from Fermin and powerfully firing past Inaki Pena from close range.
Mir hit the post twice in the second half but was unable to inspire an unlikely comeback.
This victory extended Barcelona's unbeaten home record against Elche in La Liga to 25 matches, with 18 wins among them.