MADRID (AP) — Ramin Yamal scored as Barcelona bounced back from the start. Clasico defeat On Sunday, they defeated Elche 3-1 at home, returning to second place in the Spanish league.
Ferran Torres and Marcus Rashford also scored for Barcelona, a week after they lost 2-1 to Real Madrid in the first Clasico of the season.
Barcelona is five points behind league leaders Madrid. They beat Valencia 4-0 at home on Saturday.. Barcelona entered the match in third place, one point behind Villarreal, who defeated Rayo Vallecano 4-0 on Saturday.
Yamal, who had been criticized in some quarters for his lackluster performance against Madrid, put the hosts ahead in the ninth minute with a shot from inside the area, assisted by Alejandro Balde. Three minutes later, Torres extended his lead after receiving a pass from Fermin López.
Elche hit back with a goal from Rafa Mir in the 42nd minute, but Rashford extended Barcelona’s lead in the 61st minute with a left-footed shot from a difficult angle to score his sixth goal of the season in his new home.
Rashford had his goal ruled out for offside in the build-up in the 52nd minute, and Mir almost equalized in the 55th minute when he beat Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny with a curling shot that grazed the crossbar. Mir also hit the woodwork when he put his team up 3-1 after a great save by Szczesny in the 68th inning.
Elche, who are in 9th place, are winless with three losses in four consecutive league games.
Barcelona, who have lost three of their last five matches, are still playing at the Montjuïc stadium while waiting for the proper permissions to reopen the renovated Camp Nou.
The loss to Madrid ended the winning streak against their rivals at four.
Playmaker Dani Olmo and striker Robert Lewandowski returned to Barcelona from injury and started the game midway through the second half. They had not played for the club since early October.
Other results
Eighth-placed Alaves scored a first-half goal to beat Espanyol 2-1 at home, ending a two-game winless run. Lucas Boe, who scored one of the goals, was sent off in stoppage time of the second half with a second yellow card. Fifth-placed Espanyol were on a three-game winning streak in all competitions.
Celta Vigo defeated 10-a-side Levante 2-1 away with a stoppage-time goal from Miguel Romana, marking their fourth consecutive win in all competitions. Oscar Mingueza put Levante ahead in the 40th minute, and Kevin Arriaga equalized in the 66th minute.
Celta moved up to 12th place.
Levante were winless in three league games and were eliminated from the Copa del Rey, but were still in 17th place, just outside the relegation zone.
___
AP Soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
