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Marcus Rashford helped Barcelona bounce back from their El Clasico defeat as they beat Elche 3-1.
The England international scored his side’s third after two goals in three first-half minutes from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres gave Barca an early advantage.
Rashford is continuing to thrive in Spain, scoring his fifth goal since joining on loan from Manchester United.
Victory means Hansi Flick’s side cut the gap on leaders Real Madrid to five points with 11 games played.
Rafa Mir had got Elche back into the game before half-time and he was denied by the woodwork twice in the second half as his side’s bright start to the season fades.
Barça hit the front after just nine minutes as Yamal bagged his first LaLiga goal since August.
David Affengruber’s pass went straight to Alejandro Balde who advanced down the left before picking out Yamal and he composed himself before firing into the corner.
It was 2-0 just three minutes later as Ferran doubled the lead from close range.
Another Elche mistake, where Adrià Pedrosa slipped, allowed Fermín López to race clear and he squared for Ferran, who could not miss.
Barça were pushing for a third, with Rashford having a shot deflected, but they were pegged back in the 41st minute.
Álvaro Núñez set Mir clear and the striker advanced into the penalty area and then coolly stroked the ball into the far corner.
Ferran could have reestablished Barcelona’s two-goal advantage almost immediately but his shot was saved by Elche goalkeeper Iñaki Peña.
Rashford had the ball in the back of the net seven minutes after the restart, but the England international was ruled offside and it stayed 2-1.
And three minutes later it was so close to being 2-2 as Mir clipped the top of the crossbar with a curling effort.
Rashford was not denied for long as he made it three on the hour.
The on-loan Manchester United forward was picked out on the edge of the area by Fermin, he beat his man on the outside and then fired in off the crossbar for his fifth goal in Barça colours.
Mir was on a one-man mission for Elche and was again denied by the woodwork after the ball fell to him in the box, with replays showing Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny got a vital touch.
Barça saw the game out comfortably to keep Real Madrid within touching distance.
