Barcelona player ratings v Elche: Gavi 9, Dembele 8, Jutgla 8

Nico to the rescue as Barca scramble late win

BARCELONA RATINGS: Marc-Andre ter Stegen 5 Back after a long midweek trip to Saudi Arabia with his teammates and probably appreciated having little to do against a side Barca had played 22 times at home, winning 15 and drawing 7. At least that was the first half. Poor for Elche’s goal after 61 and hopeless for the second. Getty

Ronald Araujo 5 Issues with his positioning at right-back in the first half. Gave ball away in lead up to Elche’s second and nowhere as it was headed in. By that time Barca had switched from four to three at the back. AP

Clement Lenglet 6 In for Pique and gave the ball to Gavi to assist the second goal. Poor positioning for several Elche attacks. Better teams would have punished them even more. EPA

Eric Garcia 6 Booked after 78 minutes as he won the ball to stop another Elche breakaway. Had to be on it in the second half in front of a poor 41,000 crowd. EPA

Jordi Alba 5 A fitness doubt for this game having missed previous matches, but played as a left-back/winger. Lack of concentration saw him set up a 47th minute Elche attack and there was dreadful positioning for Elche’s goal. Had an astonishing 112 touches of the ball. No Elche player had more than 50. Getty

Sergio Busquets 7 Supported the attack as Barca dominated, with 322 of the 366 first half passes. It was very different in the second half, while the side’s most experienced player went from being at the base of a midfield three to four. AP

Gavi 9 Scored the second after 18 minutes, his first La Liga goal. Turned beautifully near the centre circle and ran towards goal, beating defenders. Almost chipped a second two minutes later. Curled a left foot effort wide after 50, while VAR confirmed he was onside for the winning goal. He’s 17. AP

Frenkie de Jong 7 The most advanced of Barca’s midfielders and his boss Xavi kept telling him to push forward. Direct balls through the middle were effective, as was his crowd-pleasing control. Reuters

EFerran Jutgla 8 Started ahead of Luke de Jong. First game at Camp Nou as Depay is injured too. Plays as a nine and rose above two defenders to head his side ahead after 16 minutes – his first Barca goal. Fine movement throughout. Missed a 65th minute chance. AFP

Ousmane Dembele 8 Played wide and cut inside after 25 to set up De Jong. Set up Jutgla two minutes later and shot into side netting after 32 as Barca dominated. AFP

Abde Ezzalzouli 8 With Barca’s top four goalscorers out, played again – and wide in a 4-3-3. Broke after 30 and shot when Dembele was free to his side, then ran on to a ball and shot over soon after. Tricks and a cross on 55 was superb. Getty

SUBS: Nico 8 On for Jutgla after 72. Scored the winner after 85, a great finish for three points. Hardly on the pitch but still had three shots on target. AP

Riqui Puig 7 On for De Jong after 76. Lively as the Catalans pushed for a winner. AFP

Alejandro Balde N/A On for Abde after 88. Another youngster in Xavi’s side, the promising left back played the final few minutes of an important win. AFP

Barcelona's youngsters spared their blushes again as 19-year-old Nico Gonzalez scored a late winner to seal a much-needed 3-2 victory over Elche.

Nico's strike came after the 22-year-old Ferran Jutgla, making his full debut, and the 17-year-old Gavi had earlier given Barca a two-goal lead at Camp Nou.

But Elche scored twice in 96 seconds shortly after the hour as Tete Morente and Pere Milla pulled the visitors level, only for Nico to drag Barcelona over the line.

The result prevented Barcelona from going four games without a win under Xavi Hernandez and lifts them up to seventh in La Liga, three points behind Rayo Vallecano in fourth, having played a game fewer.

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