Substitute Nico (19 years old) scored a brilliant late goal to secure three valuable points for Barcelona, winning 3-2 against Elche at the "Camp Nou" in La Liga on Saturday. After two winless matches in the league and a humiliating 3-0 loss to Bayern Munich, which caused them to exit the Champions League at the group stage for the first time in nearly 20 years, Barcelona's coach Xavi Hernandez was eager for a win to relieve some pressure on his players.
Barcelona started with a lineup of young players, and it seemed to pay off when the rising Spanish duo Ferran Jutglà and Gavi scored early, giving the Catalan team a 2-0 lead. With strikers Memphis Depay and Ansu Fati sidelined due to injury, Jutglà started in place of veteran Luuk de Jong and opened the scoring with a header from a corner taken by Ousmane Dembélé.
Four minutes later, the talented Gavi scored his first professional goal, doubling Barcelona's advantage. However, in the second half, Elche surprised the hosts by scoring two goals in two minutes through Tete Morente and Pere Milla, seeming to suggest that Barcelona's nightmares would continue.
But in the 85th minute, Dembélé saw Gavi break through Elche's defense and passed him the ball, allowing the Spanish international to set up Nico inside the penalty area, who hit the ball into the roof of the net.
Barcelona climbed to seventh place, two points behind the European spots, but still 15 points off leaders Real Madrid. After the match, Nico told reporters: "We will fight to finish the season in the top four, and this win will definitely give us energy to rise up the table." Elche has lost half of their league matches this season and may find themselves in the relegation zone by the end of the round.
