Bottom side Elche made their tasks defending against a free-scoring Barcelona much more difficult by going down to ten men just 14 minutes after kick-off – captain Gonzalo Verdu receiving his marching orders after tripping Robert Lewandowski as the last man in defense.
The Pole made the strugglers pay by tapping in Alejandro Balde’s cross from close range to give his side the lead 34 minutes into the match.
Balde was involved again in Barcelona’s second goal. The left-back passed the ball into Memphis Depay’s feet, which the Dutchman shielded from his marker superbly before turning and slamming it into the roof of the net from close range. 2-0, the Catalans led before the break, and it could’ve been more had VAR not disallowed Lewandowski’s finish from close range on the stroke of half-time.
Nonetheless, the striker scored his second of the night, eighth of the season, and Barcelona’s third of the game, three minutes after the restart. The veteran positioned himself at the right place to turn the loose ball in after Ousmane Dembele’s cross wasn’t dealt with appropriately by the Elche defence.
Lewa’s brace secured a comfortable win for Barcelona, who are top of the league standings, at least, until Real Madrid play arch-rivals Atletico.
Elsewhere, Gennaro Gattuso’s Valencia beat Celta Vigo 3-0 to climb up the table – Los Che are now a spot behind Atleti in eighth.
Samuel Castillejo gave Valencia the lead in the 37th minute, converting the rebound after Samuel Lino’s shot had deflected into his path. Franco Cervi made Celta’s night worse by receiving a straight red card following a lunge at Thierry Correia a minute before the hour mark.
Later on, Marcos Andre and Andre Almeida scored a goal each to cap off a 3-0 win for Gattuso’s men, the pair firing in two unstoppable shots past the opposite goalkeeper from inside the box.
