Barcelona 3-2 Elche: Youngsters on target in Barca thriller home win

Pedri showed his Golden Boy trophy off at the Camp Nou and then Barcelona’s other golden boys took over as Xavi’s young team gave their coach his third win in his seven games in charge so far.

Match Events

0' The match is about to start!

2' OFFSIDE! Jutgla’s goal disallowed

15' GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Elche (Ferran Jutgla)

18' GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Elche (Gavi)

28' Jutgla's shot stopped

34' Abde's shot over the bar

44' Gavi's shot stopped

49' Gavi's shot wide out

58' Jutgla's shot stopped

61' GOAL! Barcelona 2-1 Elche (Tete Morente)

62' GOAL! Barcelona 2-2 Elche (Pere Milla)

74' Nico's shot stopped

84' GOAL! Barcelona 3-2 Elche (Nico)

Substitute Nico got the winner with five minutes left of normal time to give Barcelona their 3-2 win.

Gavi set-up the goal and was Barcelona’s best player in a win that showed once more that the only way of the mess they find themselves in is for Barcelona to trust their youngest players.

With 19-year-old Pedri still out injured it was left to 17-year-old Gavi to lead the way on the pitch he broke away to score a brilliant first goal for the club.

He was on the edge of the centre circle when he spun away from his marker. He then drove with the ball to the edge of the area drifting past Enzo Roco before lashing the ball past Edgar Badia off the post.

He became the fourth player born after 2000 to score for Barcelona in La Liga. Ansu Fati, Nico and Abde had both done it before – no team in Spain has as many youngster finding the net.

That made it 2-0. Barcelona’s first goal had came from another young talent scoring his first for the club. Ferran Jutgla had been picked to start ahead of Luuk de Jong who Xavi wants moved on in the winter window. The 22-year-old is a former Espanyol youth teamer who was signed in the summer to score goals for the B team.

He rose to head home a corner three minutes before Gavi’s masterpiece and Elche just had no answer to Barcelona next generation. The 19-year-old winger Abde was opening up the pitch on the left and with Ousmane Dembele doing the same on the right Barcelona were tormenting Elche.

Jordi Alba was pouring forward from left back but into clever central areas and even Frenkie De Jong was enjoying himself with one superb pirouette control stunning the Camp Nou.

For all the magic going forward Barcelona were still allowing Elche to have chances. Lucas Boye was allowed a free-header which he could not turn past Marc Andre ter Stegen and Lucas Perez was then gifted a chance by Jordi Alba. The left-back’s header to Ter Stegen dropped short and the Elche forward stole in but pulled his shot and Ter Stegen saved.

On 62 minutes Elche did have a foothold back in the game. With Barcelona’s 3-4-3 cruelly exposed. Boye went down the left just keeping the ball in play. He then crossed for Tete Morente to convert at the back post.

Two minutes later it was more than just a foothold – they had their legs under the table. Morente turned provider and Pere Milla headed in the equalizer. Suddenly Barcelona’s youth team looked vulnerable but they have spirit as well as talent.

Jutgla had the chance to put Barcelona back into the lead but he fired over from Gavi’s assist. Nico, who had just come on, was then twice denied with goalbound shots after being set-up by Abde.

Xavi was brave with his substitutions. He took off Jutgla but did not bring on Luuk de Jong. And Frenkie de Jong was the next to go off with Riqui Puig coming on. With all the changes the tireless Gavi was now playing as false nine and he drifted wide to create the winner. He pulled the ball back intelligently for Nico who just squeezed his shot home before Josema could rob him.

The six minutes added one where interminable for Xavi but his young team held out for the three points.

Line-ups

Barcelona XI: Alba, Busquets, Ter Stegen, Lenglet, Dembele, De Jong, Ronald Araujo, Eric Garcia, Ferran Jutglà, Ez Abde, Gavi

Subs: Luuk de Jong, Coutinho, Neto, Umtiti, Pena, Riqui Puig, Óscar Mingueza, Guillem Jaime, Nico González, Álex Baldé, Álvaro Sanz Catalán

Elche XI: I. Marcone, Edgar Badia, E. Roco, Perez, Fidel, Mojica, H. Palacios, Mascarell, D.González, Josan Ferrández, L.Boyé

Subs: Barragan, Pastore, Piatti, Carrillo, Pere Milla, A. Werner, Gumbau, Josema Sánchez, Raúl Guti, Tete Morente, John Nwankwo Donald, Jony Carmona