In conclusion
The result and performance from Barcelona reflected their season so far – it wasn’t perfect, but it was certainly good enough. Lionel Messi was again pivotal, setting up Marc Bartra’s opening goal, scoring a penalty and adding a late second – but missed another spot-kick to continue a curious trend.
Bartra stood out among the young talent thrown into action by Luis Enrique, while Levante played their part, frustrating Barcelona but offering an attacking threat only when the game had gone. Marc ter Stegen’s error allowed them a consolation goal, but the result was never in doubt once Barcelona had that elusive lead.
Thanks for joining me. Goodnight!
Full time: Barcelona 4-1 Levante
That’s your lot. A forgettable first half, a hugely entertaining second half, and Barcelona return to the top of the league, 100% record intact.
91 mins: Levante keep battling, with Toño seeing a shot blocked, before Deyverson stings ter Stegen’s palms with a curling long shot. Messi is at least in good company with his penalty misses:
GOAL! Barcelona 4-1 Levante (Messi)
Messi, having seen the social media buzz over his penalty miss, picks up the ball in the middle of the Levante half, turns, slaloms past two defenders and buries the ball in the far corner.
89 mins: Messi again dances into the danger zone, with defenders trailing in his wake, but his pass to Neymar is short...
88 mins: Sandro does recover enough to trap the ball and float in a cross, but there’s nobody getting forward to meet it, and Levante clear.
86 mins: Sandro, who has faded from view in the second half, is down hurt after a hefty challenge, and is hobbling along the left wing, much like myself after ten minutes of five-a-side.
84 mins: A Mexican wave rolls around the Nou Camp as Levante are caught offside, which has happened far too often, quite frankly. Here’s a stat for you – only Álvaro Negredo has missed as many penalties in La Liga in the last ten years as Lionel Messi.
82 mins: A change for Levante, with Rubén Garcia replacing Camarasa. There’s not much life left in this one.
78 mins: Juanfran, who is old enough to know better, tries to outfox Rakitic on the edge of the area, and is dispossessed. Rakitic could just roll the ball into the net, but dallies, then goes down in a heap as Juanfran challenges him. He appeals for a penalty, but nothing’s given this time. Messi, ever the diplomat, isn’t convinced and doesn’t appeal – and he’s probably right.
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76 mins: Messi tries to rectify matters, dribbling frantically through the Levante defence, but is eventually crowded out.
Messi misses the penalty!
Messi tries to repeat the trick, but overcooks it and sends it Waddling into the stand. His sixth miss from his last 12 penalties. Stick to what you’re good at (everything else).
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Another penalty to Barcelona...
More magic from Neymar and Messi, with Levante throwing an extra defender per second at the duo to break up a dazzling one-two. No matter – the ball is played back in, and Feddal clumsily bundles Messi over in the area...
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72 mins: Camarasa, himself an academy product, glides forward and hammers a highly ambitious shot that flies over ter Stegen’s bar. Since Busquets went off, this game has turned into a bit of a free-for-all.
70 mins: Another foray forward for Levante ends with Camarasa whipping in a left-wing cross and the lively Lerma heading the ball over. You wonder what the visitors could have done against a shaky back four if they’d been a bit more positive in the first half.
69 mins: Barcelona, who had put it in neutral after that third goal, move back up the field, with Adriano seeking out Munir with a low cross, but Feddal is well-placed to cut out the danger.
67 mins: Roger, who has done well with what little attacking opportunity he has had, goes off, replaced by Deyverson. The Brazilian substitute immediately races into the Barcelona half, and wins a corner as his pass is cut out by Gumbau. ter Stegen claims it at the second attempt.
GOAL! Barcelona 3-1 Levante (Casadesús)
A hot mess from ter Stegen, as he flaps at a cross from a short corner, and the ball drops to the substitute, who tucks it into the corner, to total silence.
63 mins: Messi, in a central area and surrounded by four or five defenders, swivels and plays a lofted diagonal pass towards Adriano, but Munir, standing in an offside position, chests it down, smashes it in, then smiles sheepishly as the flag goes up.
62 mins: Changes for either side, with Ghilas withdrawn from his lone furrow up front, replaced by Casadesús. For Barcelona, young Gerard Gumbau, who looks suspiciously like Jordan Henderson in a Barcelona kit, comes on for Busquets.
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GOAL! Barcelona 3-0 Levante (Messi penalty)
Messi smacks the ball into the roof of the net to make it three goals in ten minutes.
Penalty to Barcelona!
Oh boy. This could get ugly for Levante, who have lost their discipline, with Trujillo clipping Neymar after Messi had flicked the ball through. Messi will take it...
56 mins: That could go down as an own goal, with Trujillo and Camarasa both getting a touch. Do Spain have an equivalent of the mysterious Dubious Goals Panel? Neymar has already celebrated, also holding up the No12 shirt, so it’s a moot point, really.
GOAL! Barcelona 2-0 Levante (Neymar)
Rakitic plays the ball out to Alves, who dazzles his marker before lofting the ball towards Neymar. He should score first time, but drills his shot at Rubén, then flicks the rebound, which rolls in through a forest of neon legs.
53 mins: A half-chance for Levante, as a clearly offside Roger cuts in from the right of the area, but sees his shot deflected behind. The corner is cleared. Bartra’s goal, incidentally, was Barcelona’s quickest in the league this season.
51 mins: So, you cover Neymar, Messi, Rakitic et al, and the centre-half goes and does that. The centre-half ran over to the bench and held up Rafinha’s shirt, paying tribute after the midfielder was seriously injured this week. Neymar almost makes it two immediately, but prods a long ball wide of the near post.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-0 Levante (Bartra)
Levante have never kept a clean sheet against Barcelona, and that run continues, as Bartra feeds the ball out wide to Messi and continues his run into the box. Messi picks him out, but rather than nod the ball at goal, he brings it down on his chest and prods it inside Rubén’s near post.
48 mins: The visitors hold the ball up in the Barcelona half, with Lerma dribbling forward, looking for a pass, but he’s dispossessed, and Neymar dances through, but his through ball lands between Messi and Sandro, and is cleared away.
Peep
The second half has started, with no changes for either side.
As for Levante, the shock is still on the cards, but they may need this bloke in goal to get it done.
Luis Enrique has something of a quandary at half-time: he could give Munir and Sandro a pat on the back, throw on Iniesta and Suárez and get this game won, but there’s a tricky trip to Celta Vigo, who won at Sevilla today, to come on Wednesday. Who’d be Barcelona manager, eh?
Half-time: Barcelona 0-0 Levante
It’s Neymar’s turn, but Messi takes it, and sends the ball a foot wide of Rubén’s near post. That’s it for a first half with a few chances, but no breakthrough for Barcelona – yet.
44 mins: A few mistakes creeping in for the visitors, with Verza losing the ball then throwing an arm around Messi. Verza is booked, and Barcelona have a free kick on the edge of the D...
43 mins: They fail, with the ball worked back to Rubén, who plants his clearance onto Rakitic’s chest. Messi emerges from behind his team-mate, then slots the ball wide to Neymar, but his cross can’t find Sandro or Munir, who are standing in the same place.
42 mins: Levante win a free kick as Mascherano bundles Roger to the floor. 73% possession for Barcelona so far – a chance for Levante to chip away at that stat in the final few minutes of the half.
40 mins: Messi turns and heads towards goal, with Neymar and Munir either side of him, but his first touch is loose, and the wily Juanfran is across to pinch the ball off his toes.
38 mins: The hosts are starting to regain total control, and Busquets and Messi combine, before Busquets tees up Neymar with a dummy – but the Brazilian’s shot is blocked away for a corner. It’s worked all the way back to Mascherano, then back down the right to Alves. His cross finds Messi, who gets about a foot above his marker, but heads the ball over.
36 mins: Now it is, as Messi drifts into that central area, turns and fires a low shot which Rubén parries, and Sandro, with an open goal but out wide on the left, can only prod the ball wide.
34 mins: Barcelona fans have a hefty banner which says ‘we are all Piqué’, in response to his recent issues while away with the Spain team. On the pitch, not a lot is happening.
32 mins: Toño, who has been lively down the left, sprints into space but is flagged offside, on account of Barcelona’s back four standing on the halfway line.
30 mins: A free kick some thirty yards out, wide on the left, which Messi attempts to plonk onto the head of Bartra, but it’s cleared away.
28 mins: Levante are almost punished for their impudence, with Munir finally finding a pocket of space, and after a few stepovers, he pokes a shot into Rubén’s chest. The crowd are more exasperated than is strictly necessary at this stage.
27 mins: The best chance of the game so far falls to Levante, with Roger drawing Mascherano and prodding the ball through to Ghilas, who is one-on-one, cutting in from the left side of the area. He can go across ter Stegen, or cut the ball back to Roger, but opts to shank the ball into the stand.
26 mins: Ghilas gets a chance to take on Mascherano, with only the goalkeeper ahead of them, but the Algerian is flagged offside, incorrectly.
24 mins: Sandro and Munir may be feeling a little left out, as Neymar and Messi combine beautifully down the left, before Neymar fails to find either striker for a tap-in with his low cross, which Rubén intercepts.
23 mins: Messi and Neymar may not be playing in the same forward line, but you can’t keep them apart, as the two South Americans link up on the edge of the area – but the ball is deflected away for a corner, which is cleared. Still no first-half goals for Barcelona in the league this season, and not too many signs of one so far tonight.
21 mins: Juanfran, who is literally twice the age of Munir, gives the forward an introduction to the game with a beefy two-footed tackle. Levante don’t clear it away, and Neymar finds space on the left of the area – but he can’t decide whether to cross or shoot, so does neither, dragging the ball tamely wide.
19 mins: Levante venture forward, with Toño heaving in a left-wing cross that would be dangerous, if anyone was in the box. He repeats the trick a moment later, with two team-mates in support, but ter Stegen steps forward to claim the ball.
17 mins: Levante give away a free kick 25 yards out, and Messi takes it, sending the ball spinning up and over the wall, but only onto the roof of Rubén’s goal.
14 mins: Messi gets involved, twisting around a couple of flimsy challenges before seeing his shot blocked, then the rebound saved. Which brings me to this, from Kari Tulinius:
“One of the joys of Barcelona home games is that the camera is placed so high above the Camp Nou pitch. It makes it easier to pay attention to Messi at all times, seeing him amble around the pitch seemingly aimlessly while others run with purpose. Then suddenly he breaks into a run and a chance materializes as if out of nothing.”
I was being glib earlier, but he really is just popping up wherever he feels like from his nominal midfield position.
12 mins: A first foray into the Barcelona half for the visitors, with Lerma and Camarasa attempting to link up down the right. Calling it a foray is generous, to be honest.
10 mins: It’s basically attack v defence, but Levante are certainly well organised, pushing their back five and midfield three up as Barcelona try to build attacks. Alves and Sandro combine, with the latter finding Munir on the right, but he’s a mile offside.
9 mins: Busquets wins the ball in midfield and slots the ball to Neymar, who skips around one challenge before Trujillo hoofs the ball away.
8 mins: Levante are technically playing with two forwards – Roger and Ghilas – but they’re the only ones outside their own penalty area. The returning Dani Alves is getting involved down the right, but a couple of chipped crosses fail to find their intended target.
6 mins: A first clear chance as Messi, who is hardly sitting back, scurries to the goal-line and cuts the ball back beyond Rubén and across an open goal – but it evades both Sandro and Munir in the centre, with the latter bundling it wide from an impossible angle.
5 mins: The hosts are certainly being direct, with Busquets pumping a diagonal long ball towards Messi, but it’s inches out of his reach. Out in the Gulf, Xavi snorts in disgust.
4 mins: Neymar gets involved for the first time, teasing a couple of defenders with a spot of touchline shimmying, but the move breaks down.
2 mins: A gentle start, with the neon-shirted visitors sitting deep. Messi, also in a deeper role than usual, tries to pick out Neymar with a long pass, but Rubén collects comfortably.
Peep!
They’re off! Barcelona players came out to warm up in red shirts promoting their refugee fundraising campaign, Tant Se Val D’On Venim (a line from their anthem, which translates as ‘it doesn’t matter where we come from’. There’s more info here.
Ian Copestake writes: “the benching of Suarez gives me hope that he will strop his way from a trophy winning side to an assured starting place back at Liverpool. Watching us draw against Norwich at home was basically a coded invitation for him to return”
He must have been misty-eyed at the sight of Norwich leaving Anfield with their dignity intact this afternoon.
Five minutes until kick-off. We’ll be watching a different kind of MSN this evening, with young bucks Munir El-Haddadi and Sandro Ramirez lining up alongside Neymar. It’s a first start of the season for Munir, and a first ever Barcelona start for Sandro.
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To help crank up the excitement a notch, here’s a clip of footballers! Walking! In different directions!
Team news
Enrique rings the changes, six to be precise, from the Champions League game against Roma. Young forwards Munir and Sandro start, meaning Messi is likely to play wherever he likes between midfield and the front three.
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; Adriano, Bartra, Mascherano, Alves; Busquets, Rakitic, Messi; Neymar, Sandro, Munir.
Subs: Masip, Mathieu, Alba, Sergi Roberto, Gumbau, Iniesta, Suárez.
Levante: Rubén; Iván, Toño, Trujillo, Feddal, Juanfran; Camarasa, Verza, Lerma; Roger, Ghilas.
Subs: Marino, Karabelas, Rubén Garcia, José Mari, Morales, Casadesús, Deyverson.
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Preamble
Hello, hello. If recent events in the sporting world have taught us anything, it’s that there’s no such thing as a sure thing – even in the stratified world of La Liga. The exploits of Roberta Vinci and the Japanese rugby team show that odds (18/1 and 33/1 respectively, since you ask) ain’t nothing but a number – something to fire belief into Levante, available at 40/1 to triumph in tonight’s two-horse race.
It’s not just the oddsmakers that are against them. While the club has been a La Liga presence for nine of the past 12 seasons, stabilising in mid-table in their current six-season top-flight run, they, like many others, have had little joy on trips to the Nou Camp. The last five visits in league and Cup have finished 5-0, 1-0, 7-0, 5-1 and 5-0 to the hosts. Five defeats, one goal scored, 23 conceded.
Barcelona are looking to extend their 100% start to the season and reclaim top spot in the league, but there are worse times to line up against Luis Enrique’s team, with injuries, transfer bans and swearing at an official ruling out Claudio Bravo, Thomas Vermaelen, Douglas, Rafinha, Gerard Piqué, Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal. Dani Alves could return from a groin strain, with Enrique likely to draft youth players into his team.
We’re all set for another shockwave to ripple through the world of sport. Ah, who am I kidding? Find out how many Messi, Neymar and Suárez can bag between them from 7.30pm.
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