Barcelona’s 75% possession delivers a 4-2 win over Levante

Barcelona defeated Levante 4-2 in La Liga on Sunday, with the result preserving the visitors’ winning start and handing Levante a home defeat. Barcelona led 2-0 at half-time and controlled most of the match, although Levante scored twice late to make the final stages more competitive.

Barcelona make early control count

Barcelona took the lead after five minutes when Xavi Espart finished a move assisted by Raphael Dias Belloli. Lamine Yamal doubled the advantage in the 19th minute, again with Raphael Dias Belloli providing the assist. The early goals gave Barcelona a strong platform, while Levante struggled to match their control of possession.

Yamal extended the lead three minutes after the restart by converting a penalty. He left the match in the 66th minute, replaced by Daniel Olmo Carvajal, having scored twice and registered two shots on target. Barcelona also changed Gerard Martín for Andreas Christensen at half-time, then introduced Marc Bernal for Pedri in the same 66th-minute spell.

Late Levante response falls short

Levante found a route back into the contest in the 79th minute, when Iván Romero scored a normal goal. Roger Brugué added another in the 88th minute, reducing the deficit to one. Barcelona restored its two-goal advantage in the 90th minute, however, as Karim Adeyemi scored from an assist by Marc Bernal.

The only bookings came at half-time, with Barcelona’s Gerard Martín and Levante’s Hugo Sotelo each receiving a yellow card. Sotelo was then substituted in the 60th minute for Oriol Rey. Levante also brought on Enzo Bardeli and Iván Romero during the second half, while Petar Ratkov and Jon Ander Olasagasti made way.

Possession and passing underline Barcelona’s dominance

Barcelona had 75% possession and completed 711 accurate passes from 782 attempts, compared with Levante’s 171 accurate passes from 243. The visitors also won five corners to Levante’s three. The shot totals were closer than the scoreline: Levante had 13 attempts to Barcelona’s 12, and both teams recorded 10 shots from inside the box. Levante registered seven shots on goal, one more than Barcelona, but the home side could not turn that activity into a result.

Raphinha leads the ratings

Raphinha was the standout performer, receiving an 8.4 rating after playing all 90 minutes. He supplied two assists and created three key passes. Yamal followed with an 8.2 rating, while Adeyemi earned 7.8 after scoring during his 23-minute appearance.

Barcelona entered the match with four consecutive wins and the supplied table listed them first with 12 points from four games. Levante were listed 13th with five points from four matches after a form sequence of loss, draw, win and draw. This result strengthens Barcelona’s perfect run and adds another defeat to Levante’s record.