FC Barcelona defeated Elche (3-1) in matchday 11 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26. Eder Sarabia's team had two of their main reinforcements for the season, Iñaki Peña and Héctor Fort, both loaned by Barça without a mandatory purchase option.

The match, however, was not positive for either the Barça youth players or the Elche team. Barça was headed for victory very early, thanks to goals from Lamine Yamal and Ferran Torres in the first 12 minutes. Both goals were the product of Barça's high pressure and errors in the visiting team's exit.

Although Rafa Mir scored for Elche before halftime, Marcus Rashford, with a great goal in the 61st minute, dashed the 'franjiverde' comeback hopes. Next, we review Peña and Fort's performance in their return to Montjuïc.

Iñaki Peña was not responsible for Barça's goals

Barcelona 3-1 Elche: Flick's team doesn't fail in Montjuïc and recovers 2nd place in LaLiga

Despite conceding 3 goals, Iñaki Peña put in a good performance against his former club. The Alicante native made two saves, one of them a brutal stop from a Ferran Torres volley before halftime, preventing a more resounding defeat for Elche. The first two goals stemmed from errors in the buildup, while the third was the product of a remarkable collective action by Barcelona.

Peña began the 25/26 season as a substitute for the experienced Matías Dituro, but he took over the starting position from matchday 8 of the League. In total, he has conceded 8 goals in 6 matches, keeping a couple of clean sheets.

On Sunday, he recovered 6 balls, in addition to completing 31 of 44 passes (70%). If the Elche team manages to stay in the first division, the 25-year-old goalkeeper has a good chance of staying with the 'franjiverdes'. After the signing of Joan García, the Alicante native was left without a place at Can Barça.

Héctor Fort played 20 minutes in his return to Montjuïc

Héctor Fort, meanwhile, came on in the 70th minute for Pedro Bigas. The right-back was quite precise in his distribution, with only 1 misplaced pass in 19 attempts. In addition, he tried a couple of shots, one of them deflected and another blocked by an opponent.

At the end of the Barça-Elche match, Héctor greeted Hansi Flick and some of his former teammates in a friendly manner. In addition, he spoke with 'DAZN' about his feelings on returning home and the extra motivation with which he evidently took to the field.

"I've been with Lamine for many years and we're friends. I was especially excited to have him in front of me. I didn't come out of it too badly. I caught him a bit tired already, luckily," the 18-year-old defender joked. So far this season, Fort has 169 minutes of action spread over 5 games (he only started against Osasuna).