FC Barcelona added their second victory of the season in LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26 against Levante (2-3), again coming from behind with good football and a lot of character. Hansi Flick's team took advantage of an own goal by Unai Elgezabal in the 90+1' to avoid the slip-up and maintain the perfect score (6 points out of 6 possible).
After a very even first half, the refereeing controversies allowed the locals to go to the dressing room with a two-goal lead. In the second half, Barça appealed to the epic and the comeback, their main weapon in the 24/25 season, to take three golden points from a very tough field.
Tough punishment for Barça in a controversial first half
Hansi Flick made two changes compared to the league debut in Mallorca: Marc Casadó for Frenkie de Jong and Marcus Rashford as left winger instead of Fermín López. The player from Huelva was a substitute, while the Dutchman was absent with permission (paternity).
Barça took control of possession immediately, while Levante made their game plan clear: fall back with up to eight men near their area and try to break the Barça defensive line with quick exits and balls into space.
Rashford had Barça's first clear chance with a shot cleared by goalkeeper Cuñat with his legs. José Luis Morales fell into the offside trap a couple of times. Alejandro Balde again worried the 'granota' goal with a shot deflected by Elgizabal that grazed the side of the net.
After the corner favorable to the culés, Levante put together a lethal counterattack that ended in a remarkable finish by Iván Romero, after cutting past Pau Cubarsí and shooting past Joan García. Hansi Flick's team reacted quickly with a cross from Lamine Yamal that Ferran Torres couldn't quite head comfortably.
The 'Shark' wasted another very clear chance in the 37th minute, shooting straight at the crossbar despite receiving a pass from Pedri that left him alone in front of Campos. The last minutes of the first half were of total Barça siege, but in the 45+6' the action of the scandal would arrive.
After another quick counterattack from Levante, Morales shot straight at Balde's body inside the area. Although the ball hit the defender's hand, there was no separated arm or unnatural position of the '3'. Alejandro Hernández and José Figueroa, principal and VAR of the match, cared little. Penalty for the locals and goal by Morales to make it 2-0 before the break.
Great goal by Pedri and furious reaction from Barça in the second half!
At halftime, Flick moved the bench with the entry of Gavi and Dani Olmo for Marc Casadó and Marcus Rashford. Barcelona, as so many times in 24/25, had to come back from a totally adverse scenario.
Again, the key was to discount quickly. In the 49th minute, Pedri cut the distance with an authentic bombshell from outside the area, an implacable left-footed shot after a pass from Lamine. Three minutes later, Ferran shook off the anger of the wasted opportunities in the first half, shooting with his right foot a corner served by Raphinha that surprised the local defense.
In a burst of three minutes, Barça did justice with a result more in line with the course of the match. The verticality and intense rhythm did not stop during the following quarter of an hour, until the hydration break, with chances in both areas.
Eric García, in the 60th minute, almost took advantage of a great pass from Olmo to score, while Cubarsí, with a providential sweep, prevented Romero's double in the 66th minute. Levante's counterattacks were a permanent headache, but the culés continued to have control of the match.
Lamine Yamal orchestrated Barça's comeback in stoppage time
For the final stretch, Flick sent Robert Lewandowski and Andreas Christensen onto the field in place of Balde and Ronald Araujo, respectively. In the first play in which he participated, the '9' was knocked down inside the area by Unai Elgezabal, while the locals claimed a previous foul by the Pole (a slap).
Alejandro Hernández, however, opted to signal an inexplicable drop ball. But football is fair and, in the first minute of added time, a cross from Lamine Yamal from the right ended in an own goal by Elgezabal himself.
In his eagerness to clear the ball, the defender headed straight into the goal, leaving goalkeeper Cuñat without options. Barça has 6 points out of 6 possible in LaLiga, is leader and maintains its unbeaten record this 2025 as a visitor in the tournament. Next Sunday, to Vallecas for another victory.
Match sheet: Levante UD 2-3 FC Barcelona
- Levante UD, 2: Cuñat; Toljan (García, min. 86), Dela, Elgezabal, Cabello, Manu Sánchez (Pampín, min. 75); Rey, Martínez, Morales (Rivera, min. 60); Brugué (Espí, min. 75) and Romero (Lozada, min. 75).
- FC Barcelona, 3: Joan García; Eric García (Koundé, min. 85), Araujo (Christensen, min. 76), Cubarsí, Balde (Lewandowski, min. 76); Casadó (Gavi, min. 46), Pedri; Lamine, Raphinha, Rashford (Dani Olmo, min. 46); Ferran Torres.
- Goals: 1-0, Iván Romero (min. 15); 2-0, José Morales (min. 45+8, p.), 2-1, Pedri González (min. 49); 2-2, Ferran Torres (min. 52); 2-3, Elgezabal (min. 90+1, o.g.)
- Referee: Alejandro Hernández Hernández. He cautioned Alejandro Balde for Barça. For Levante, he warned José Morales, Pablo Martínez and Diego Pampín. In the added time of the first half, he sanctioned a non-existent penalty handball by Balde. In the 85th minute, he omitted a foul inside the area on Robert Lewandowski.
- Stadium: Ciutat de Valencia
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 2 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26