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FULL-TIME, Elche 0-2 Barcelona: Far from brilliant or spectacular but Barça have gotten the job done. That’s nine games in a row without a loss in La Liga. Well done, boys!
GOAL!!! Elche 0-2 Barcelona (Puig 89’): IT’S TWO FOR BARÇA! Frenkie De Jong goes on a beautiful solo run and waits for the right time to play a perfect cross into the path of Riqui Puig who heads home the second! What a goal!
SECOND HALF KICKOFF! Elche 0-1 Barcelona: And we’re back underway! Come on, boys, let’s finish the job!
HALFTIME, Elche 0-1 Barcelona: This has been an exercise of patience for Barça against a parked bus, and they haven’t been extremely creative in the final third, but they managed to score a key goal before halftime.
GOAL!!! Elche 0-1 Barcelona (De Jong 39’): BARÇA TAKE THE LEAD! Martin Braithwaite tries to find Antoine Griezmann in the box but his cross is deflected against his own net by González, and Frenke De Jong gets a tap-in before the ball crosses the line!
KICKOFF! Elche 0-0 Barcelona: And we’re underway! Come on, boys!
LINEUPS
BARCELONA
Starting XI: Ter Stegen; Mingueza, Araujo, Umtiti, Alba; De Jong, Busquets, Pedri; Dembélé, Griezmann, Braithwaite (4-3-3)
Bench: Neto (GK), Arnau (GK), Lenglet, Dest, Firpo, Pjanic, Matheus, Puig, Trincão, Konrad
ELCHE
Starting XI: Badía; Barragán, Verdú, González, Mojica; Fernández, Marcone, Guti, Rodríguez; Rigoni, Boyé (4-4-2)
Bench: Rodríguez (GK), Cifuentes, Josema, Barri, Salinas, Luismi, Lucumí, Nwankwo, Nino, Milla, Morente
WELCOME TO THE ESTADIO MANUEL MARTÍNEZ VALERO!!! The pretty home of Elche is the site of a big La Liga game between the hosts and Barcelona, who come into this one on an eight-game unbeaten streak in the league looking to continue their chase of the leaders against a relegation candidate that’s not won a game since October but can still cause Barça plenty of problems. This should be a good one, and you’re welcome to join us to follow and comment all the action. LET’S LIVE BLOG!!!
(Note: the comments will be open only when the team news come out, because our commenter people love commenting and sometimes there are too many comments in the comments section)
MATCH INFO
Competition/Round: 2020-21 La Liga, Matchday 20
Date/Time: Sunday, January 24, 2021, 4.15pm CET (Barcelona & Nigeria), 3.15pm GMT (UK), 10.15am ET, 7.15am PT (USA), 8.45pm IST (India)
Venue: Estadio Manuel Martínez Valero, Elche, Spain
Referee: Valentín Pizarro Gómez
VAR: José Luis González González
HOW TO WATCH, STREAM LA LIGA
How to watch on TV: beIN SPORTS (USA & Canada), LaLigaTV (UK), SuperSport (Nigeria), Movistar LaLiga (Spain), Not Available (India), others
How to stream: FuboTV (USA), Premier Player (UK), Facebook Live (India), Movistar+ (Spain), others
Matchday Thread Rules
We don’t have a lot of rules here, but there are a few things to keep in mind when joining our matchday threads:
Even if the referee sucks or we lose the game, no swearing. It’s just unnecessary. Also, don’t discuss illegal streaming links. Those who do it will be warned, and those who post links will be instantly banned. Finally, be nice to each other. This is a Barcelona community and we don’t need to offend one another.
Have fun with the game! Forever and ever, no matter the competition, VISCA EL BARÇA!