The Blaugrana extend their lead to four points

Barcelona took a four-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of League with a 3-1 victory at Elche.

The Blaugrana had to work hard at the Estadio Martinez Valero, but ultimately had too much for their hosts as they piled pressure on their main rivals in the title race.

Barca took the lead in the sixth minute through Lamine Yamal, only for Alvaro Rodriguez to restore parity just before the half-hour mark.

Ferran Torres restored Barca's lead before half-time and, although Hansi Flick's men were often unconvincing in defense, they kept the points safe with Marcus Rashford's simple finish from close range.

The onus is now on Madrid to close the gap to one point when they host Rayo Vallecano at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Barcelona wins despite the enthusiasm of Elche

There was no doubt about the result when Dani Olmo's ball sent Yamal racing towards goal, and he rounded Inaki Pena and headed home.

Olmo then moved his foot narrowly wide before clipping the crossbar from the edge of the area, and Barca were punished for their failure to take these chances.

The visitors were caught off guard when German Valera's slide rule pass sent Rodriguez through, and he made no mistake, firing calmly into the bottom right corner.

Torres hit the bar from close range as Barca looked to quickly restore their lead, and the former Manchester City man did just that in the 40th minute.

Frenkie de Jong showed impressive composure to relieve Pena after being played in on the right side of the area, and his dismissal was met with an emphatic finish from Torres.

Pena was rounded for the second time in the match as Torres looked set to double his tally, only to see his goalbound effort cleared before he could cross the line.

Elche continued to provide a constant threat and Rodriguez shot narrowly wide of the post, before Adam Boayar went horribly wide with all the goal to aim for as the hosts failed to make the most of Barca's defensive weaknesses.

Rahsford himself was guilty of a serious miss in a one-on-one with Pena, but he atoned by firing into an empty net to make the match safe after Elche failed to clear a low right-wing cross from Yamal.