Depay extends Barcelona’s unbeaten run against Elche

Sports Desk, Mar 6 (EFE).- Super-sub Memphis Depay on Sunday earned Barcelona a hard-fought 2-1 win over Elche, to extend their unbeaten run to eight games across all competitions.

Despite carving out a couple of close scoring chances, Barcelona conceded a last-minute first-half goal from Fidel, who made the most of an inaccurate backwards pass to break the scoreless deadlock.

At the one-hour mark, Ferran Torres, who took the field at the beginning of the second half, drew the teams level on a close range as Jordi Alba set him up off a cross by Ousmane Dembele.

In a bid to bring the comeback to fruition, Barca coach Xavi Hernandez sent on Adama Traore and Depay with 15 minutes to go in the match.

Seven minutes later, Depay earned and successfully converted a penalty kick awarded by referee Hernandez Hernandez after the VAR confirmed a handball on Antonio Barragan.

With the win, Barcelona – who have not been defeated since being axed by Athletic from the Spanish Cup on 20 January – are third in the La Liga table with 48 points, seven behind second-placed Sevilla with a match in hand.

Elche, meanwhile, are in the 14th spot with 20 points.

EFE ta-bp