On a comeback, Barcelona beat Elche 2-1, this Sunday, away from home, in a match valid for the 27th round of the Spanish Championship. Fidel opened for Elche, but Barça turned around with goals from Ferran Torres and Depay.
With the victory, the Catalan team reached 48 points, and now occupies the third place in La Liga. Meanwhile, the home team follows with 29 points, in 14th position.
On Thursday, Barcelona return to the field to face Galatasaray, at Camp Nou, in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League.
Elche’s next appointment, in turn, is on Saturday, when the team visits Granada, for the 28th of the Spanish Championship.
Taking advantage of the field command, Elche started dominating the match. Just six minutes into the first half, Guti’s shot went close to Ter Stegen’s goal.
During the first half, Barça managed to balance the game and started to create chances to score.
The best of them came from the feet of striker De Jong, who took advantage of the leftover ball and hit first. Defender González took off over the line to save the home team’s goal.
With the balance, the match seemed to be heading towards a draw, however, in the 44th minute of the first half, Fidel took advantage of Pedri’s failure, stole the ball and scored the goal that made Elche go into the break with the advantage on the scoreboard.
On the way back to the second stage, Barça took control of the match and put pressure on Elche. The pressure produced results. The equalizing goal came in the 15th minute, with Ferran Torres.
Seeking a comeback, the team led by Xavi did not stop attacking. In the 37th minute, Memphis Depay crossed in the Elche area and the ball hit Barragán’s arm.
After VAR analysis, the referee awarded a penalty for Barcelona. Memphis himself tapped to put Barça ahead of the scoreboard.
To further complicate the situation of the home team, Javier Pastore was sent off for complaint, and the match ended with a victory for Barcelona.
Source: Gazetaesportiva
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