If Barcelona’s game against Real Sociedad was frustrating in terms of the team not converting chances, last night’s clash against Elche trumped it with some margin.
The Catalans took to the field away against Eder Sarabia’s men and had enough chances to have scored over ten goals on the night, yet, they simply struggled to convert and kept the game tight until the very end.
Lamine Yamal opened the scoring for Barcelona but Elche soon found a neat equaliser. Ferran Torres then handed the team the 2-1 lead, one they struggled to move past even in the second period. Eventually, it was Rashford who scored the third and buried the result.
Barça Universal brings you the player ratings from Elche 1-3 Barcelona.
Joan Garcia: 8.5
The goalkeeper popped up with some good saves, runs out of the area, and interceptions to sweep with perfection and deny Elche clear-cut chances but could not do much more than he did for the hosts’ equaliser.
Came up with some critical saves towards the end of the second half when Elche pushed high for a way back into the game.
Alejandro Balde: 8
Balde had a strong game playing on Barcelona’s left flank as he constantly converted defence into attack, hit out on counters, and burst forward with pace.
Many of the team’s transitional openings stemmed from Balde’s runs, and his combination with Raphinha and Torres was positive.
Eric Garcia: 8
Garcia was sensational on the night with his reading of the game, interceptions, and defensive actions, and was even inches away from single-handedly getting back and preventing Elche’s first goal.
His distribution was neat, even under the opposition’s high pressure, and he coordinated well with Pau Cubarsi to maintain the offside trap.
Pau Cubarsi: 7.5
The youngster had a positive night, albeit not as defensively demanding as Garcia. He stopped threats from the right side with relative ease and held the line well and only struggled in tracking back on occasions when the hosts broke past the trap.
Jules Kounde: 8
The right-back had a good game defensively as he stayed slightly deep in his half and did not venture forward as much as he usually does. Was rock solid in defence, even stopping many of Elche’s counters.
Frenkie de Jong: 9
De Jong had a great game controlling Barcelona’s midfield possession and ensuring that the Catalans retain superiority over Elche on that front. He dictated the pace of the game and even looked to directly play the forwards through.
Pulled up a great piece of play for Barcelona’s second goal, holding up the play from an advanced position and smartly finding Ferran Torres with the assist.
Dani Olmo: 8
Olmo had a good game in terms of his positioning and link-up play and got into great positions through his combination with Lamine Yamal. In fact, it was his pass that sliced through the Elche defence and set Yamal up for the opener.
Concurrently, however, he was wasteful in front of goal and could well have had a brace to his name in the first-half alone with his chances going wide or hitting the crossbar.
Fermin Lopez: 7
Fermin’s role in the XI was radically different on the night as he often stayed out on the right flank, overlapping, while Yamal was drifted centrally. He took a while to grow into the role, but began popping up more towards the end of the first period.
Could have had a brace for himself in the first period, just like Olmo, but let all his chances go begging from point-blank range.
Lamine Yamal: 10
Lamine was simply superb against Elche and created threats and opportunities with virtually every pass of his. His dribbling was smooth, but his balls over the top and behind the defence particularly plagued Eder Sarabia’s side.
Scored Barcelona’s opening goal with a great finish past Inaki Pena and could well have had several assists to his name in the opening period, all of which went begging.
Produced a stunning bit of play to keep the ball in play and single-handedly created the opening for Barcelona’s third goal that Marcus Rashford thrashed in.
Ferran Torres: 7
Torres had a rather peculiar night against Elche as he started and did well with his movements and work off the ball, even combining well and getting good first-touches.
Where it all fell apart for him, however, was his finishing and luck which could not have been more rotten. He did score the team’s second goal, but missed close to four massive chances in the first-half, hitting the post or going narrowly wide.
Raphinha: 7
Raphinha was a potent threat running into spaces and had his chances to score, but he slowed down towards the end of the half and signalled to be taken off for precaution – eventually being hooked off at half-time.
Marcus Rashford: 7.5
The Englishman came on for the second period and added a lot of dynamism to the team with his pace. Missed a simple 1v1 to put the team 3-1 up on the night but eventually did score the team’s third goal with a lethal volley from point-blank range.
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