Barca put the pressure back on Real Madrid.
Barcelona moved four points clear of Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga with a 3-1 win at Elche.
The Blaugrana were made to work hard at Estadio Martinez Valero, but ultimately had too much for their hosts as they put the pressure on their arch rivals in the title race.
Barca took the lead in the sixth minute through Lamine Yamal, only for Alvaro Rodriguez to restore parity just shy of the half-hour mark.
Ferran Torres restored Barca’s lead before half-time and, while Hansi Flick’s men were often unconvincing at the back, they made the points safe with Marcus Rashford’s simple finish from point-blank range.
The onus is now on Madrid to cut the gap back to a point when they host Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Barcelona prevail despite spirited Elche showing
There was never any doubt as to the outcome when Dani Olmo’s throughball sent Yamal bearing down on goal, and he duly rounded Inaki Pena and tucked home.
Olmo then side-footed narrowly wide before clipping the crossbar from the edge of the area, and Barca were punished for his inability to take those chances.
The visitors were caught cold as German Valera’s slide-rule pass sent Rodriguez through, and he made no mistake, calmly firing into the bottom-right corner.
Torres hit the bar from point-blank range as Barca sought to quickly re-establish their lead, and the former Manchester City man did just that in the 40th minute.
Frenkie de Jong showed impressive composure to stand up Pena after being played in down the right-hand side the box, and his lay-off was met with an emphatic finish from Torres.
Pena was rounded for the second time in the game as Torres looked set to double his tally, only to see his goal-bound effort cleared before it could cross the line.
Elche continued to offer a consistent threat and Rodriguez fired narrowly wide of the post, before Adam Boayar skewed horribly wide with the entire goal to aim at as the hosts failed to make the most of Barca’s defensive frailties.
Rahsford was guilty of a bad miss of his own when one-on-one with Pena, but he atoned by firing into an empty net to make the game safe after Elche failed to clear a low right-wing cross from Yamal.
