Barca create 15 points gap in La Liga
The two teams had opposite performances before the ball rolled. While Elche finished bottom of the table and used up to four coaches from the beginning of the season, Barca are flying high at the top of the table and are ambitious to win the treble, including La Liga, King's Cup and Spanish Super Cup.
Barca weren't too overwhelming with 60% possession, finishing 12 times with six shots on target - compared to 15 and 2 for the hosts. But the efficiency in the finishing stage helped the army under Xavi win jubilantly.
In the 20th minute, from Jordi Alba's free kick, Ronald Araujo headed a cross for Robert Lewandowski to control and finish the corner to clear the deadlock. The Polish striker opened the scoring seven times in La Liga this season, the most in the league.
Barca played more explosively in the second half. In the 55th minute, receiving the ball from Ferran Torres in the home field, Ansu Fati pitched the ball close to the Elche penalty area and then shot diagonally out of reach of goalkeeper Edgar Badia. Fati scored his first La Liga goal since October 2022, ending a run of 14 games without a match.
In the 66th minute, Gavi - the player who returned to wear the number 30 shirt when La Liga canceled his new contract with Barca - competed in the middle of the field and then poked a slot for Lewandowski to escape to lower Badia in a face-to-face position. Barca's sublime day ended in the 70th minute, when Torres put his left foot close to the penalty area to seal a 4-0 victory.
This result helps Barca firmly build the top of La Liga with 71 points, 15 points more than Real - the team that will take on Valladolid today. Barca also won 12 away matches in La Liga this season, the most in Europe's top five leagues and equal to Napoli in Serie A.
The army under Xavi also ran perfect for the match against Real in the semi-final second leg of the King's Cup at Camp Nou on April 5. In the first leg at the Bernabeu, Barca won 1-0 thanks to Eder Militao's counter-kick.
"Barca played well, from start to finish," said Xavi after the win at Manuel Martínez Valero. "Barca has a collective with players who are not necessarily involved, but they have performed at a high level. We have taken another step towards the La Liga title and I am very happy."
The Spanish coach revealed that pushing Eric Garcia - who has a knack for kicking a central defender - into a holding midfielder was the idea of Sporting Director Jordi Cruyff - son of Dutch legend Johan Cruyff. Xavi also praised Torres, Fati playing well and revealed that Frenkie de Jong could be back in time for the El Clasico match in the middle of next week.
