Barcelona defeats Levante 3-2

Barcelona became the first team to win a La Liga after having done so. Now, they have shifted to the second spot in the standings with 60 points after 30 games. However, they are far behind leader Real Madrid, which has 72 points from 31 after beating Getafe 2-0.

First Half

Barça’s performance in the first half was average. They struggled to counter Levante’s man-to-man marking scheme, and their possession was out of sync. Levante was steady even without the ball, and AJ Morales was lethal upfront. Morales almost netted a terrific one after dismantling the Barça defense but Eric García delivered an impressive clearance off the line. Levante faced only a few problems at the back because of Barcelona's slow attack. When halftime arrived, the match remained goalless which means the Blaugranas still had a chance to improve their game.

Second Half

Sadly, Barca did not level up and Levante finally scored the first goal of the match. Dani Alves was called for a penalty and Morales stepped up to the occasion with the ball shooting past Marc-André ter Stegen diving into the wrong side. Five minutes later, Roger Martí found a chance to double the lead but Ter Stegen made an important save to keep Barça alive. Shortly after, Pedri and Gavi joined as substitutes only to improve Barca's pace.

Within five minutes, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the equalizer, and then Gavi went past three defenders to set up Pedri who staged a beautiful finish sending Barça in front. Levante tried even harder to make up for the loss as Clément Lenglet came off the bench. Levante then received their third penalty of the night and Gonzalo Melero found leveled the score to 2-2 with 10 minutes left.

Levante continued to attack and Barcelona was clustered in the front. So both the teams kept counter-attacking with a wide-open back on each side. Right before it could settle for a draw, Big Luuk De Jong was summoned to change the score. He ended up scoring a perfect cross from Jordi Alba in injury time to put his team in the lead again before the final whistle took off!

Barca Coach Xavi's Thoughts On the Latest Victory and Rivals Madrid

Barca's proud coach Xavi had positive things to say about his team. "The fact we won while conceding three penalties shows we are very competitive and have a winning mentality. I was concerned about this game because Levante are a difficult side with great players and they have beaten sides like Villarreal and Atletico Madrid. We've earned three golden points that keep us in the fight." However, when he was asked whether Barca could overtake Real Madrid, the coach added, "It's very difficult because Real Madrid seldom slips up. But if they drop a few points in the next two weeks we can start to believe a little more." Hence, it is to be seen whether Barca could outscore Los Blancos.