ELCHE, Spain: Lamine Yamal scored once and set up another as Barcelona extended their lead at the top of LaLiga with a 3-1 victory over Elche on Saturday.
Barcelona moved to 55 points from 22 matches, four ahead of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Elche remained 12th with 24 points from 22 games.
The visitors took the lead inside six minutes when Dani Olmo played Yamal through on goal and the 18-year-old rounded goalkeeper Inaki Pena to score his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.
Elche equalised in an end-to-end first half as German Valera slipped former Real Madrid forward Alvaro Rodriguez in behind the Barcelona defence and he raced clear to score.
Barcelona dominated the match and created a host of chances, finishing with 30 attempts on goal but repeatedly failing to convert. Olmo struck the crossbar midway through the first half, while Ferran Torres hit the bar from close range before steering the rebound against the post moments later.
Torres eventually restored Barcelona’s lead after the break, and Marcus Rashford sealed the win in the 72nd minute when Yamal’s low cross was not cleared by the Elche defence, allowing the England forward to blast the ball into the roof of the net from close range.
“We got three more points. We continue to grow as a team. We haven’t reached our peak yet,” Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong said.
“Barca attack very well,” Rodriguez said. “They have very good players and it wasn’t to be. We will continue working to do better.”
