By Staff Reporter
VALENCIA — Barcelona maintained their perfect start to the season with a 4-2 victory over Levante on Sunday, with teenage forward Lamine Yamal scoring twice to keep the Catalan giants at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona have now won all six of their matches in all competitions, including five consecutive league victories, putting them three points clear of Real Madrid.
The visitors took control after just five minutes when 19-year-old Xavi Espart fired home from the edge of the box following a slick passing move. The effort took a slight deflection on its way into the net and marked Espart’s first senior goal.
Barcelona doubled their advantage in the 19th minute. Raphinha controlled Fermin Lopez’s through ball before finding Yamal unmarked in the centre of the penalty area, with the forward making no mistake from close range.
Levante improved as the first half progressed and began putting Barcelona under pressure, although they failed to seriously test goalkeeper Joan Garcia. The hosts finished the half with six attempts compared with Barcelona’s three.
Barcelona extended their lead shortly after the restart when Aissa Mandi was penalised for a foul on Yamal inside the area. Yamal converted the resulting penalty 42 seconds into the second half to complete his third La Liga brace of the season.
Levante refused to surrender and came close to scoring in the 60th minute when Victor Garcia beat Joan Garcia, but Pau Cubarsi’s block and Andreas Christensen’s subsequent goal-line clearance denied the hosts.
Barcelona’s control began to slip in the closing stages. An errant pass from Espart in the 79th minute allowed Ivan Romero to round Joan Garcia and pull a goal back for Levante.
The hosts then moved within one goal nine minutes later when Roger Brugue broke through several Barcelona challenges before finishing to make it 3-2.
Barcelona eventually secured the points in stoppage time when Karim Adeyemi produced a mazy run before calmly finishing in the 93rd minute to end Levante’s hopes of completing a comeback.
Despite the late scare, Barcelona held on for a sixth straight victory, with Raphinha’s work rate and Rodri’s composed midfield performance helping the visitors control key periods of the match.
Atletico Madrid Return to Winning Ways
Atletico Madrid also returned to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Real Sociedad, scoring all three goals in the final stages of the match.
Alejandro Grimaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 84th minute before new signing Jonathan David doubled Atletico’s advantage six minutes later.
Giuliano Simeone completed the victory with a 95th-minute goal.
The result ended Atletico’s run of two successive defeats. They were without Julian Alvarez and Pablo Barrios, who missed the match through muscle injuries.
Elsewhere, Malaga drew 1-1 with Celta Vigo at Balaidos, while Deportivo La Coruna also shared the points with Getafe after a 1-1 draw.
