Barcelona 3-1 Elche: Report, result and goals as

Barcelona extended their unbeaten run against Elche to 22 matches with a 3-1 win at the Olympic Stadium.

The result also marked their ninth consecutive victory over the visitors, maintaining their longest unbeaten record against a La Liga side.

Elche started the match brightly, keeping possession well and pressing high in the opening minutes, but their early confidence was undone by a few crucial defensive mistakes.

After just nine minutes, a misplaced pass allowed Alejandro Balde to surge down the left and find Lamine Yamal inside the area. The teenager cut inside onto his left foot and found the far corner to make it 1-0.

Only two minutes later, Barcelona doubled their lead. Fermin Lopez capitalised on a slip from Adria Pedrosa, broke into the box, and squared the ball for Ferran Torres to tap in from close range.

The two quick goals seemed to put the hosts in full control, though their rhythm dipped as the half went on.

Elche, to their credit, refused to fold. Rafa Mir remained a constant threat and got his reward three minutes before the break when he was played through by Alvaro Nunez.

The striker turned inside Ronald Araujo before slotting past Wojciech Szczesny to bring the visitors back into the game.

Barcelona still went into the interval ahead, but there was work to do after a half in which they conceded 10 first-half goals in their last 11 league matches.

Rashford restores control

The second half began with more energy from Elche, who came close to equalising when Mir struck the post after a fast counter-attack.

However, Barcelona soon regained their composure. Rashford, who had been lively throughout, sealed the win in the 61st minute.

Lopez floated a clever pass to the England international, who skipped past Pedrosa and lashed a powerful shot in off the crossbar for 3-1.

From there, Hansi Flick’s side managed the game professionally. Dani Olmo made his return from injury, and Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to a warm reception as Barcelona looked to close out the win.

Elche enjoyed brief spells of possession but lacked the cutting edge to test Szczesny again.