Alexis Sanchez grabbed his first hat-trick for Barcelona as the Catalan giants returned to the summit of the Primera Division table with a comfortable 4-0 win over Elche at Camp Nou this afternoon.
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Sanchez and Pedro Rodriguez fired the hosts into a 2-0 half-time lead before two more goals from the Chilean, following a Xavi Hernandez penalty miss, ensured that Gerardo Martino's men kicked off 2014 in style.
Having not played since the 5-2 victory over Getafe a fortnight ago due to the winter break, Martino's troops looked well rested and needed just seven minutes to take the lead, with Sanchez tapping home Jordi Alba's cross early on.
Fran Escriba's charges responded well to the setback and came within the width of the crossbar from restoring parity.
Juventus loanee Richmond Boakye failed to finish off a swift counter-attack from the visitors by watching his effort cannon off the frame of the goal, a miss that the Ghana international would soon be punished for.
The Blaugrana doubled their advantage minutes after the scare through Pedro, who latched onto a Cesc Fabregas through-ball before rounding goalkeeper Tono to secure his team's second of the afternoon.
Xavi should have ended the game as a contest just minutes into the second half after Cristian Sapunaru was adjudged to have fouled Fabregas in the area, but the veteran midfielder fluffed his lines from the resulting penalty and fired wide from 12 yards.
Nevertheless, the former Udinese winger soon rendered his teammate's miss academic by netting his team's third of the afternoon from close range, before securing his hat-trick six minutes later to ensure that they begin the New Year in similar fashion as they ended 2013.
Consequently, Barcelona return to the summit of La Liga after Atletico Madrid's 1-0 victory over Malaga briefly sent Diego Simeone's men top.
Shane Callaghan
