Memphis Depay scores late penalty to give Barcelona victory over Elche

Barcelona needed a late penalty from Memphis Depay to seal off and claim a 2-0 victory on Sunday evening.

This is the side’s fourth consecutive win, but it was one of the toughest ones they’ve had recently after defeating Napoli, Valencia and Atletico Madrid, and Athletic Club in convincing fashion.

Barcelona fell behind just before halftime when Chaves De La Torre gave the home side the lead. However, Barcelona equalized through Ferran Torres on the hour mark before Memphis Depay stepped up to cooly despatch a late penalty.

Before the game, Barcelona manager Xavi had talked about the need to be cautious and careful against Elche’s abs, and even though the result was a victory, it came in very difficult circumstances.

“We need to be careful with their attacks down the wing, and we found them very hard to play against. We have five games coming up in two weeks, so we’ll need to rotate to deal with tiredness and fitness. But I’m loving having so many options in attack.” Xavi was quoted.

Now Barcelona will turn their attention to the UEFA Europa League, where they will face Turkish Giants Galatasaray in the quarter-finals of the competition.

Barcelona had beaten Napoli 5-3 on aggregate to move into the next round of the competition, and the first leg of the game will come up on Thursday.

Barcelona moves to third levelled with Athletico Madrid on the La Liga table with 48 points from 26 games, one fewer games than the Madrid-based club.

Nevertheless, they are fifteen points behind Real Madrid, who top the table and comfortably defeated Real Sociedad 4-1 on Saturday.

They are seven points behind second-placed Sevilla. Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid defeated Real Betis on Sunday evening to keep up with La Liga’s top four standings. Although level on points with Barcelona, Atletico remains in fourth, having played one more.

Written by: Daniel Ademiju Idowu