Lamine Yamal scored twice as Barcelona secured an entertaining 4-2 victory over Levante on Sunday to maintain their perfect start to the La Liga season.
The result restored Hansi Flick’s side’s three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table after Los Blancos defeated Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Xavi Espart opened the scoring for the champions in Valencia before Yamal doubled the advantage. The teenage forward then converted a penalty early in the second half to put Barcelona firmly in control.
Despite maintaining a 100 per cent record after five matches, Barcelona once again showed defensive vulnerabilities as Ivan Romero and Roger Brugue scored in the closing stages to bring Levante back into the contest.
Substitute Karim Adeyemi finally settled the game in stoppage time with a stunning solo effort, bursting through the Levante defence before calmly beating goalkeeper Mathew Ryan.
“It was not our best game, of course. We had a great start. In the second half we struggled a little bit,” Flick told reporters.
“We have to fight to improve. It’s normal; we have situations we have to make better, much better. We’ll tell the team and go on to the next match, but with the result I’m happy.”
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia admitted the team took its foot off the gas after the break and almost paid the price.
“It was a hard game; we did make it harder for ourselves than it needed to be,” Garcia told Movistar.
“But it has to teach us something — if you give any opponent a bit of breathing room, they get on top of you.”
Barcelona made a blistering start at the Ciutat de Valencia, where Levante had been unbeaten in their previous eight matches.
The visitors opened the scoring in the fifth minute, with Levante barely having time to settle before Barca defender Espart found the net.
Barcelona sliced through the middle of the Levante defence with ease, allowing the 19-year-old to fire home from the edge of the box with the aid of a slight deflection.
It was Espart’s first goal for the club. The young midfielder was promoted to the first team by Flick this season and has been deployed at left-back.
Levante responded with sustained pressure and came close to equalising on several occasions.
Petar Ratkov failed to get a clean shot away from a promising position, while Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia produced an important save to deny Brugue.
The hosts were made to pay for those missed opportunities when Raphinha set up Barcelona’s second goal in the 19th minute.
The Brazilian rounded Ryan before cutting the ball back for Yamal, who made no mistake from close range, smashing into an empty net.
The pace of the game subsequently dropped amid the summer heat and a series of heavy challenges.
Yamal struck again shortly after the restart, winning and converting a penalty to put Barcelona 3-0 ahead.
The Spain winger was brought down by Aissa Mandi and confidently powered the resulting spot-kick past Ryan for his seventh goal in four games across all competitions.
Levante threatened to pull one back when Andreas Christensen cleared Romero’s bobbling effort off the line.
Romero eventually got his goal after Espart surrendered possession with a loose pass towards Christensen, allowing the Levante striker to pounce and fire home.
The home fans were soon celebrating again when Brugue capitalised on a mistake by Marc Bernal. Garcia saved his initial effort, but Brugue reacted quickly to tap in the rebound and reduce the deficit to one.
However, Adeyemi ended Levante’s hopes of earning a point with a superb individual effort in stoppage time. The former Borussia Dortmund winger surged through the defence before keeping his composure to beat Ryan and seal Barcelona’s 4-2 victory.
Barcelona will host promoted side Racing Santander on Wednesday, while Levante welcome Athletic Bilbao.
Earlier on Sunday, Celta Vigo were held to a 1-1 home draw by Malaga. Later, Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid travel to Real Sociedad, while Getafe face Deportivo La Coruna.
AFP
