Substitute Nico Gonzalez scored a late winner as Barcelona edged 3-2 past Elche in La Liga to end their three-game winless run in all competitions on Saturday, December 18th, 2021.
Ferran Jutgla signed from four times Copa Del Rey champions Espanyol headed in an opener for the hosts after 16 minutes before the youngest player to ever represent Spains’s senior national team 17-year-old Gavi grabbed his first La Liga goal with a superb solo effort.
Substitutes Tete Morente and Pere Milla then stunned the Catalans as Elche scored twice in as many minutes to draw level.
Elche looked to have earned a hard-fought point, only for to ball to drop to Gonzalez, who finished smartly to earn Xavi’s young side all three points.
But Gonzalez son to ex Spain international and retired La Liga side Deportivo la Coruna midfielder Fran poked into the top corner five minutes from time to win it.
It means Xavi’s side sit seventh, three points off a Champions League spot and 15 behind leaders Real Madrid while Francisco Rodríguez’s Elche remain 16th, two points above the relegation zone.
Barcelona had failed to win their previous three outings, with a 2-2 draw at Osasuna last Sunday following defeats by Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Real Betis in La Liga.
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