Barcelona came from two goals down to pull off a monumental comeback to defeat Levante 3–2 and capture three points that could prove significant come the climax of the La Liga season.
Although Barcelona had the ball to start, it was Levante who looked more dangerous and struck first. After having a goal disallowed, the hosts took the lead in the 15th minute. Levante worked around Barcelona’s high line, then, Jeremy Toljan set up Iván Romero, who entered the box and got away from Pau Cubarsí with a sweet body feint to fire a low shot into the back of the net.
Barcelona dominated possession but squandered the chances they created to equalize. None clearer than when Pedri played Ferran Torres through on goal, but Torres missed, hitting the crossbar from close distance to deny the Catalans from leveling the score.
Instead, it was Levante who doubled their lead before halftime. Alejandro Balde was called for a penalty after it was deemed he deliberately blocked a shot with his hand. José Luis Morales calmly stepped up and dispatched the penalty with the final kick of the first half.
It took Barcelona just seven minutes to level the game out of the tunnel. Pedri pulled one back for the Catalans quickly with a stunning, long-distance strike perfectly placed into the top corner. Three minutes later, Torres redeemed himself as he volleyed in Barça’s equalizer from a Raphinha corner.
Hansi Flick’s side pushed forward in numbers for the remainder of the game, forcing Levante to defend with all 11 players almost inside their penalty box. A minute into stoppage time, Barcelona completed the comeback. Lamine Yamal—who was excellent in the second half—sent in a deadly cross into the heart of the box that Unai Elgezabal dramatically headed into his own goal.
Barcelona would see out the game to take all three points. However, Flick’s side must clean up their overall performance, as a number of weaknesses were exposed in only the second game of the season.
Player ratings from the game below.
Ratings Provided by FotMob
|
Position / Player |
Ratings (Out of 10) |
|---|---|
|
GK: Joan García |
7.8 |
|
RB: Eric García |
7.9 |
|
CB: Ronald Araújo |
7.2 |
|
CB: Pau Cubarsí |
7.0 |
|
LB: Alejandro Balde |
7.2 |
|
CM: Marc Casadó |
6.7 |
|
CM: Pedri |
8.6 |
|
RW: Lamine Yamal |
8.5 |
|
AM: Raphinha |
8.3 |
|
LW: Marcus Rashford |
7.1 |
|
ST: Ferran Torres |
8.2 |
|
SUB: Gavi (46′ for Casadó) |
6.9 |
|
SUB: Dani Olmo (46′ for Rashford) |
7.0 |
|
SUB: Andreas Christensen (76′ for Araújo) |
6.4 |
|
SUB: Robert Lewandowski (76′ for Balde) |
5.7 |
|
SUB: Jules Koundé (85′ for García) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Iñaki Peña (GK), Diego Kochen (GK), Dro Fernández, Antonio Fernández, Fermín López, Jofre Torrents
Player of the Match: Pedri (Barcelona)
Levante (5-4-1): Pablo Cuñat (GK); Manu Sánchez, Jorge Cabello, Unai Elgezabel, Adrián de la Fuente, Jeremy Toljan; José Luis Morales, Oriol Rey, Pablo Martínez, Roger Brugué; Iván Romero
Subs: Alejandro Primo (GK), Diego Pampín, Victor García, Iker Losada, Carlos Espí, Carlos Álvarez, Matias Moreno, Sergio Lozano, Paco Cortés, Nacho Pérez Gómez,