De Jong leads Barca to win over Elche
MADRID, Jan 24, (AP): Barcelona picked up their second win in a row without the suspended Lionel Messi, defeating Elche 2-0 to regain third place in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Frenkie de Jong scored in the 39th minute and set up Riqui Puig’s 89th-minute goal to give Barcelona its fourth league win in a row as Messi served the second of his twogame suspension for hitting an opponent.
The Catalan club moved a point in front of Sevilla, which on Saturday beat Cádiz 3-0. Barcelona was three points behind second-place Real Madrid - which won 4-1 at Alavés on Saturday - and seven points behind leader Atlético Madrid.
It was the first time Barcelona won four consecutive league matches this season, with all four victories coming in away matches. It hasn’t lost in nine straight league games.
De Jong scored into the open net after the Elche defense failed to fully clear a cross from Martin Braithwaite to Antoine Griezmann inside the area. The Dutch midfielder made a well-placed cross for Puig’s late header for his firstever Spanish league goal.
Marc-André Ter Stegen made a crucial foot-save to keep Barcelona ahead in the 56th after Elche forward Emiliano Rigoni entered the area in a one-on-one situation. The breakaway for the hosts was prompted after a blunder by Barcelona defender Óscar Mingueza, who gave the ball away near midfield.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-0 win over third-division club Cornellà in the round of 32 of the Copa del Rey on Thursday, when Messi served the first match of his suspension for hitting an opponent in the team’s 3-2 loss to Athletic Bilbao in the Spanish Super Cup final on Jan. 17.
The Argentina playmaker will be allowed to return to action in Barcelona’s visit to Rayo Vallecano in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Elche, winless in its last 13 league games, was second-tolast in the 20-team standings.
Meanwwhile, Eden Hazard scored and set up Karim Benzema for his first of two goals as Real Madrid eased to a 4-1 victory at Alavés in the Spanish league, ending a winless run in a match that coach Zinedine Zidane missed after he contracted the coronavirus.
Hazard grazed a long pass to redirect it to Benzema to double the lead for Madrid in the 41st after Casemiro had headed in the 15th-minute opener.
SOCCER
The Belgium forward scored just his third goal of the season in first-half injury time to build a 3-0 lead at the break. Toni Kroos recovered possession in midfield and met Hazard’s run behind a disordered defensive line to score past goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco.
Joselu Mato pulled one back for Alavés on the hour-mark when he headed in Lucas Pérez’s free kick.
Benzema made it a brace in the 70th after Luka Modric played him clear on the break. The French striker cut back inside the last defender before firing in his 10th goal in the league this campaign.