Rashford scores as Barcelona beat Elche to go second 

Marcus Rashford scored for Barcelona as they bounced back from their El Clasico losswith victory over Elche in La Liga.

Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres had put Hansi Flick’s side in control, before Rafa Mir pulled one back for the visitors.

Rashford’s 61st-minute effort sealed the success that moved Barca back to second spot, five points behind leaders Real Madrid.

Elche had the ball in the net first, but an offside flag quickly ruled out any celebrations.

From then on, Barca took control as Yamal latched on to an Alejandro Balde pass before cutting on to his left foot and firing brilliantly into the far corner for the ninth-minute opener.

The hosts doubled their lead two minutes later, Fermin Lopez pouncing on a slip from Adria Pedrosa before crossing for Torres to tap into an empty net.

Elche halved the deficit three minutes before the break through Mir who broke the offside trap before curling a shot brilliantly into the bottom corner from the edge of the box.

Rashford had the ball in the net early in the second half, but the linesman’s flag was up for an offside against Fermin in the build-up.

But the England forward wasn’t to be denied and found the net soon after, collecting a Fermin pass and powerfully firing beyond Inaki Pena from close range.

Mir hit the post twice in the second half, but wasn’t able to spark an unlikely comeback with his efforts.

Barcelona’s victory stretched their home record against Elche in La Liga to 25 matches without defeat, winning 18 of them.

By BBC Sports