Yamal leads Barcelona to a 3-1 victory against Elche

Yamal leads Barcelona to a 3-1 victory against Elche

Lamine Yamal netted one goal and assisted another as Barcelona increased their lead at the top of LaLiga with a 3-1 triumph over Elche on Saturday.

Barcelona now holds 55 points from 22 matches, four points ahead of Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Elche remains in 12th position with 24 points from 22 games. Yamal initiated the scoring for the visitors before Alvaro Rodriguez equalized for Elche in a thrilling first half. Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford added to the scoreline, alleviating the concerns of a Barcelona side that had 30 attempts on goal during the match.

"We secured three more points. We are continuing to develop as a team. We have not yet reached our full potential," stated Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

"We typically have players who finish well. There are occasions when they miss. The crucial aspect is that we create those chances."

Barcelona took the lead within six minutes when Dani Olmo assisted Yamal, who rounded goalkeeper Inaki Pena to score his 13th goal of the season across all competitions.

Olmo hit the crossbar with a shot midway through the first half, and within a minute, Elche equalized. German Valera slipped the ball to former Real Madrid forward Rodriguez, who broke through the Barcelona defense to score.

The visitors should have regained the lead when Torres hit the crossbar again from six yards out with a poor miss. The ball bounced back to him, and he then hit the post in a comical turn of events.

Torres finally found the net in the 40th minute when De Jong created space in the box and, instead of shooting himself, passed the ball back for Torres to fire into the roof of the net from 15 yards.

It should have been 3-1 just minutes later when Fermin Lopez somehow sent the ball over the crossbar from six yards with the goal wide open.

Barcelona continued to generate opportunities in the second half, with substitute Rashford missing a clear chance when he shot wide with only the goalkeeper to beat.

Rashford did get his goal on 72 minutes, however, 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.

"Barca attack very well," Rodriguez said. "They have very good players and it wasn't to be. We will continue working to do better."