Barcelona 4-0 Elche: It’s Alexis Sánchez time to shine!

Full-time: Barcelona 4-0 Elche
Goals: Pedro (16′), Alexis Sánchez (7′, 63′, 69′)
Match date: January 5, 2014
Stadium: Camp Nou
Competition: La Liga
Barcelona line-up: Valdés, Jordi Alba, Bartra, Piqué, Montoya, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Alexis Sánchez, Cesc Fabregas.

Barcelona started the new year in the best possible way, after hosting and defeating Elche at the Camp Nou, in a clear 4-0 win. Alexis Sánchez was the MVP of the game, scoring a hat-trick and reaching the 11th goal-mark in La Liga this season.

The opener got scored by the Alexis around the 7th minute of the first half, after a great cross from Jordi Alba on the left and a flawless finish from the Chile international, who met the pass just a few meters away from Elche‘s goal-line. The 2-0 didn’t take too long but it was Pedro claiming the spotlight this time. With only 16 minutes played in the first half, Fabregas found the Asturian man with a great through pass and with a simple touch, Pedro ran past the goalkeeper and struck the ball towards an empty net.

The 3-0 arrived after a nice triangulation play between Iniesta, Pedro and Alexis Sánchez, with the latter one finishing it off with an easy tap-in and no opposition whatsoever. We were already deep inside the 2nd half by then, but there would still be time for another goal and for Alexis Sánchez to sign off his hat-trick. Without Lionel Messi (on the last stage of his injury recovery) and Neymar (on the bench) on the pitch, the former Udinese forward was the man elected to take a free-kick near Elche‘s box entrance and he definitely showed he can also be a reliable pick for the future. The 25-year old player curled the ball around the free-kick wall and sent it right into the back of the net, giving few chances for Toño to reach it.

Barcelona will now play a mid-week game for the Copa del Rey against Getafe, but it’s next weekend’s match against Atletico Madrid that is already on everyone’s minds. Neymar and Messi should be perfectly fit for both games, but Tato Martino might rotate his team a bit during this Wednesday’s fixture in order to preserve his main players for the game against Atletico Madrid.

Sources: fcbarcelona.com

Watch all the goals and highlights video from Barcelona 4-0 Elche match:

Barcelona and Neymar match photos against Elche: