Yamal stars as Barcelona beat Elche to extend La Liga lead

Lamine Yamal scored once and set up another as Barcelona strengthened their grip on the top of La Liga with a 3–1 away win over Elche on Saturday.

The victory lifted Barcelona to 55 points from 22 matches, moving them four points clear of second-placed Real Madrid, who have a game in hand. Elche stayed 12th with 24 points from the same number of games.

Yamal gave Barcelona an early lead in an open first half before Alvaro Rodriguez equalised for the hosts. Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford then found the net to seal the win, as wasteful Barcelona finally made their dominance count after registering 30 attempts on goal.

“We got three more points and we continue to grow as a team,” said Barcelona midfielder Frenkie de Jong. “We haven’t reached our peak yet. The important thing is that we keep creating chances.”

Barcelona set the tone inside six minutes when Dani Olmo sent Yamal through on goal. The 18-year-old calmly rounded goalkeeper Inaki Pena to score his 13th goal of the season in all competitions.

Olmo later hit the crossbar midway through the first half, and Elche punished that miss moments later. German Valera slipped a pass in behind the Barcelona defence for former Real Madrid forward Rodriguez, who ran through to finish and level the score.

Torres then endured a remarkable miss, striking the crossbar from close range before hitting the post with the rebound. He made amends in the 40th minute when de Jong found space in the area and squared the ball for Torres to drive a 15-yard shot into the roof of the net.

Barcelona should have extended their lead before the break, but Fermin Lopez somehow fired over from six yards with the goal at his mercy.

The chances kept coming after half-time. Substitute Rashford initially squandered a clear opportunity, shooting wide with only the goalkeeper to beat. He made no mistake in the 72nd minute, though, when Elche failed to clear Yamal’s low cross and the England forward smashed the ball home from close range.

“El Barca attack very well,” said Rodriguez after the match. “They have very good players. It wasn’t to be for us, but we will keep working to improve.”