Barcelona 3-0 Elche
Barcelona suffered their first defeat of the season on Tuesday against Bayern Munich and they arguably could not have wished for a better fixture to get right against Elche.
Things started to wrong for Elche early on when after 14 minutes Gonzalo Verdu saw that Robert Lewandowski was running clear on goal. He chose to stop him via illegal means, leading to a harsh punishment and a swift red card.
Until that point Ousmane Dembele had been proving just how quick he can be down the right and it was from there the breakthrough move started. He found Pedri on the edge of the box, who played in an onrushing Alejandro Balde on the left side – Lewandowski was naturally on hand to convert the cross.
From that point on the Blaugrana slipped into a sort of easy control. Shortly before half-time, Memphis Depay got off the mark for the season. Balde found the Dutchman’s feet in the box, allowing Memphis to author a brilliant turn and blast the ball into the roof of the net. Only the offside line prevented a Pedri tap-in from making it 3-0 before the break. Elche manager Francisco was also sent to the stands as he protested three offside decisions for each time the ball was in the net, although equally it might just have been in reference to the general direction of the match.
Camp Nou only had to wait three minutes into the second half before it was 3-0. A cross from the right was not cleared, allowing Memphis to nip in and lay off Lewandowski, who made no mistake inside the box.
From that point on Barcelona became more frivolous with their finishing, Ansu Fati, Ronald Araujo and Lewandowski all passing up presentable opportunities to extend the lead. By the time the final stages of the match were entered, it was truly in procession phase.
For those wondering about the Elche chances, they secured their first shot on goal, after 21 from Barcelona, seconds before stoppage time. A meek header very much embodying their performance. The remain bottom of the table with just a point, Francisco’s future moving into focus in Alicante.
Barcelona move top ahead of the Madrid derby on Sunday night, after a relaxing recovery from Munich before the international break.
