Barcelona pulled off a 2–3 comeback at Levante on Saturday night. Two goals down at halftime, they took control after the break and sealed it with a stoppage-time own goal. Barça remain at the top of the table.
Hansi Flick made two notable tweaks to the starting XI that won in Mallorca: Marc Casadó started in midfield and Marcus Rashford started on the left, with Raphinha operating centrally. According to Mundo Deportivo, the coach sought “more defensive positioning” and had “a good feeling” about Raphinha between the lines before kickoff.
Barcelona created early chances, with Ferran hitting the bar and Raphinha heading just wide. Then Levante scored twice before the break, the second from a penalty for handball against Alejandro Balde after a VAR review. According to reports coming out of Spain, the decision was viewed as harsh.
Flick reset at halftime. He brought on Gavi and Dani Olmo to steady midfield and push the team higher, and the match flipped in three minutes: Pedri curled a well-placed strike from the edge of the box (49’), then Ferran leveled from close range after a Raphinha corner (52’). In stoppage time, Lamine Yamal’s driven cross forced Elgezabal into an own goal to complete the turnaround.
Post-match, Flick praised the team’s resilience: “I’m proud of my players… we believed until the end,” he said, while acknowledging the penalty “wasn’t clear” but “we have to accept it,” per Mundo Deportivo. Pedri admitted the staff kept telling him to shoot more—and he did. Ferran, now LaLiga’s early top scorer with two, underlined the dressing-room message: “We had to show character,” he told Spanish TV, echoing the coach’s halftime demand.
Barcelona sit at 2 out of 2 with a +4 goal difference and remain at the top of the table. Next up is a third straight away trip to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, August 31.
