FC Barcelona took three golden points from the Ciutat de Valencia after coming back against Levante (2-3) in a magical night for Pedri González. The '8' once again carried the mission of orchestrating the game of a team that, at halftime, left with a two-goal disadvantage.
The 'culés' started losing with a goal from Iván Romero in the 15th minute and, in added time of the first half, José Luis Morales extended the lead from a penalty, after a non-existent handball by Alejandro Balde. However, the entry of Gavi and Dani Olmo gave the team greater freshness in the second half.
Pedri receives his first 'MVP' of LaLiga after a great match in Valencia
The Canary Islander opened the way to victory with a great goal in the 49th minute. Pedri received from Lamine and, taking advantage of the space, positioned himself to unleash a left-footed shot straight into the corner, impossible for goalkeeper Cuñat. Three minutes later, Ferran Torres scored the equalizing goal for the 'culés'.
In 24/25, the player from Tegueste played 37 of the 38 LaLiga matches with Barça, being chosen 'MVP' on 16 occasions. Well, after Lamine Yamal's recital in Mallorca, in Valencia it was the turn of the '8' to lead an epic 'azulgrana' comeback.
After the match, the midfielder explained the play of his great goal and the team's reaction. "They always tell me to shoot, today I tried, the first shot with my left foot with the 'prebenjamines' and the second one went in. It doesn't matter how the match is going, we know that Lamine is going to take on players and he is going to grow and that makes it much easier for us", argued the 22-year-old player.
Flick's changes, key to the improvement of Pedri and Barça in the second half
In that sense, the '8', who started making a duo in midfield alongside Marc Casadó, explained the positive effect of the changes made by Hansi Flick at halftime.
"We knew it wasn't going to be an easy field, we knew they weren't going to give us facilities with the ball and it was difficult for us. In the second half we had more possession, Raphinha put himself between the lines", Pedri detailed.
The Brazilian had started as an attacking midfielder, with Marcus Rashford playing on the left wing. With the entry of Olmo, the '11' returned to the wing, while Gavi helped with the high pressure to suffocate Levante's exit.
Pedri compares Tchouaméni's handball in the Clásico with Balde's
In the end, an assist from Rafa to Ferran and an own goal by Unai Elgezabal after a cross from Lamine allowed Barça to complete the comeback despite the terrible refereeing of Alejandro Hernandez (main) and José Figueroa (VAR).
Regarding the performance of the referees, the MVP of Levante-Barça commented: "They recently gave us a talk at the Ciutat Deportiva. Last year there were clearer handballs by Tchouaméni in Montjuïc and they didn't call it and today they did". Clearer than that is impossible.