Substitutes Torres and Depay boost Barca's comeback victory at Elche
Key takeaways:
- Ferran Torres netted his third goal for Barcelona and first in La Liga since his January transfer from Manchester City.
- Substitute Ferran Torres was the motivation as Barcelona arrived from behind to keep their good recent form with a win at mid-table Elche.
Barcelona grabs crucial three points to move to the top three:
Barca manager Xavi sent on Torres, and the ex-Manchester City player leveled with an instinctive finish, trailing at halftime to Fidel's opener.
He could have netted more but saw Elche goalie Edgar Badia in good form.
However, fellow sub-Memphis Depay succeeded and converted a late penalty to shoot Barca up to third in La Liga.
The Catalan giants have netted four times in four of their previous six matches, with January transfer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scoring in each of his four La Liga matches.
However, he was well shackled here as Barca initially strumbled to set themselves and Elche led through Fidel's good finish at halftime.
The second-half appearance of Torres transformed the momentum, and he was directly involved, cleverly turning home Jordi Alba's knockdown and moving Badia into a string of outstanding blocks.
Aubameyang was sacrificed for Depay, and the Dutchman pressurized Antonio Barragan into a handball in the penalty area, with a penalty later cited after the referee reviewed the pitchside screen.
Depay himself fired home the penalty to ensure three important points and carry Barca past Real Betis, who host fifth-placed Atletico later.