Full-time: Barcelona 3-0 Levante
So there you have it. A fifth successive clean sheet for Barça. A third consecutive game without a goal for Levante, who were never overwhelmed here and had their moments early in each half, but once they were behind defeat seemed pretty inevitable. Barcelona are now nine points clear of Atletico in second, and 17 ahead of Real Madrid, who play at Celta Vigo later tonight. And they can probably only get better, given recent reinforcements. Levante remain three points above the drop zone. Thanks for following. Bye.
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Goal! Barcelona 3-0 Levante (Paulinho 90+3)
And that’s yer lot. Messi, who I’d just said had been quiet, slaloms into the area down the left and pulls it back with precision for Paulinho, who I also said had been quiet, for a simple tap-in. It’s his seventh goal of the season, the best for a midfielder in La Liga this term.
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90+2 mins: One last chance for Levante, as a low cross from the left eludes the Barca back line and is knocked back by Samuel for Doucoure who flashes a shot far too high.
90 mins: Four minutes will be added on.
89 mins: Alba is back on the field, though limping, as a Paulinho-Messi give-and-go on the edge of the area doesn’t quite come off.
88 mins: Ouch. Jordi Alba has gone down clutching his left leg, wincing in what looks like considerable pain. It looks like he twisted it after stumbling following a challenge on Samuel. He leaves the field for treatment, and Barca, having used their subs, are momentarily down to 10.
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87 mins: Stats fans, Barcelona have completed almost four times as many passes as Levante, which is normal.
85 mins: Barcelona sub: Albaiz comes on for Roberto, creator of the second goal.
84 mins: It’s been a low-key display by Barca in general, this, and though Suarez and Messi have, inevitably, scored they’ve both been quiet by their standards. It’s the engine-room keeping-it-ticking-over players who’ve excelled today – Rakitic, Mascherano, Vermaelen – complemented by some fizz from Dembele earlier and the full-backs Roberto and Alba. Another who’s been quiet, Paulinho, creates a chance with a run into the box but his low cross in can’t quite find Suarez.
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83 mins: Barcelona delay Levante’s final substitution for ages and ages by just passing the ball endlessly between each other, the move breaking down when Messi drives into the area and is crowded out. A subsequent foul on Roberto allows the change to be made, Jason making way for Samuel Garcia.
78 mins: Messi wins a free-kick in a dangerous position after being bundled over following some neat interplay between Rakitic, Alba and Gomes. And the free-kick is slammed into the wall but Barca keep possession and Gomes forages into the left of the area with some twisting and turning before his ball in is hacked clear.
76 mins: Barcelona substitution: Iniesta off, as per, after a quietly effective display of his wonderful arts, to be replaced by Andre Gomes/
73 mins: Levante’s attempt to be more expansive this half has been admirable, given this side was selected with half an eye on their Copa del Rey second leg against Espanyol (where they lead 2-1). They make another sub anyway, Boateng off for Nano.
72 mins: Suarez is denied twice by Oier after beating the offside trap to take down a long ball and hammering it at the keeper, whose second save goes behind for a corner, which Levante clear.
70 mins: Moore’s cross from the right finds Doucoure, who turns neatly but is dispossessed by Mascherano.
69 mins: Semedo is involved straight away, foraging down the right and winning a corner when his ball in from the by-line is volleyed behind.
67 mins: Barcelona substitution – one summer signing for another, Semedo for Dembele, who’s looked sparky and impressive. Sergi Roberto will push forward on the right with Semedo tucking in behind him at right-back.
65 mins: Levante chance! A lovely flowing move ends with Moore being found by the increasingly influential Jason in space on the right of the area, and his low shot is well blocked with is legs by Ter Stergen who concedes a corner. This is the visitors’ best spell of the game, even if the corner is wasted via a sliced cross-shot
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63 mins: Substitution: Levante bring on the defender Pier for Lerma, who gets through the afternoon without seeing red.
62 mins: Another Levante attack from the left, as Jason cuts into the area from the left but his ensuing cross-shot is scooped weakly over
60 mins: Levante have found some space behind the midfield line on a few occasions this afternoon, and a sweeping breakaway on the left finds some more but the move breaks down when two attackers collide when meeting the low ball in from the left.
58 mins: Messi smartly plays in Roberto down the right but his low ball across the area fails to find a finisher and Suarez is in any case penalised for clattering into Cabaco.
57 mins: A Barcelona shot. Dembele, Rakitic and Alba combine smartly on the left before the ball is laid back to Dembele who cracks it high, wide and not particularly handsomely over the bar.
56 mins: Some neat quickfire passing in their own half gets Levante out of bother but the attack fizzles out on the right and we’re back to the Barcelona keep-ball experience.
54 mins: Dembele’s trickery certainly brings something (even more) to this team, and he dances past two players to win a throw in the corner, from which it’s worked out left to Messi then Alba, who’s well closed down by the American defender Moore as he bears down on goal. Barca haven’t had a shot in this half yet. Rubbish.
51 mins: Levante win a free-kick, curved menacingly to the back post by Ivi, and beyond Ter Stergen but Barca clear and press again.
50 mins: The crowd here is a meagre 56,000, though this isn’t the most high-profile of weekends or of fixtures. Barca are now composing themselves after a bright start from Levante and knocking it around in a cool and carefree fashion.
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48 mins: Another neat flowing move from Levante from left to right before Alba closes down Doucoure on the edge of the box and the danger passes.
47 mins: Levante attack first in this half, as they did in the first, and win a corner down the right but the ensuing delivery doesn’t beat the first man, who is Suarez, but Levante win it back and Ivi draws an excellent save from Ter Stegen, deftly beating two men before unleashing from 25 yards. The keeper does well to tip it over.
Peep!
We’re back underway
Half-time thoughts on the Twitters, from John McEnerny: “PC the long term replacement for the giant that is Iniesta,they’re having a laugh He’ll free up Iniesta for the CL cos La Liga is more or less wrapped up. He’s a good player but he’ll never come close 2 Iniesta’s level one of the all time greats of the game!” Maybe not, but it’s a nice problem/argument to have.
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Half-time: Barcelona 2-0 Levante
Paulinho almost rounds off another spell of possession by bursting through in the box but is forced wide and denied. And that ends the first-half. Barcelona took a few minutes to hit their stride, but only a few, and have been in control since taking the lead. Levante have never won a league point at the Camp Nou and don’t look like getting one here. Their goal drought continues. See you in 15 minutes.
45 mins: Nearly another for Messi – a ball over the top on the left puts him clear but his angled shot is blocked by Oier.
44 mins: Barcelona have had more than 71% possession – is this more of the radical non-possession much discussed recently, or have they just not given Levante much of a sniff. Dembele has another dart into the box past two men but Levante clear.
43 mins: Suárez and Messi interchange intricately on the edge of the box but though Messi is crowded out he works it back to Rakitic who sends a rasping volley just wide of the right-hand post.
41 mins: Barca build again from the corner and Iniesta gets to the left by-line and sends a hanging cross into the box for Vermaelen who can only head weakly at Oier.
40 mins: Barça are rampant now and Messi wins another free-kick after a Lukic handball. But we are told, remarkably, that they haven’t scored from a free-kick this season. And they don’t from this one, Messi’s delivery being deflected wide off the wall for a corner.
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Goal! Barcelona 2-0 Levante (Suarez, 38)
A long meandering spell of Barcelona possession explodes into life with a raking long ball forward down the right by Mascherano for Roberto who volleys in a brilliant cross first-time for Suarez, who takes it down and belts it high into the corner. An excellent goal.
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35 mins: A painful clash of heads between Vermaelen and Boateng as they contest a high ball forward sends both players to the turf, and in need of treatment off the pitch. But both are given the Ok to return to the field.
34 mins: More defensive dawdling by Barcelona goes unpunished as an attempt by Doucoure to rob Paulinho is a rashly executed clumsy foul.
32 mins: Messi’s free-kick clears the six-man wall but goes over and wide by about six inches.
31 mins: Lerma’s in damger of losing the plot here, conceding another free-kick after ramming into Iniesta. He gets another talking to but no further sanction. Postigo does, though, seeing yellow for tripping … you guessed it, Messi.
29 mins: Lerma, already booked, is living dangerously, clattering Messi’s left leg to concede another free-kick. The Argentinian wins another within a few seconds, and then gets on the end of Iniesta’s lofted ball forward towards the right byline but is crowded out and Levante clear.
26 mins: Close! The exciting Dembele forages forward, driving down the inside right channel before sending a powerful drive to Oier’s right that the keeper palms out to Suarez who blooters the rebound over the bar.
24 mins: Some lax defending from Barca almost lets Levante through as Vermaelen is robbed by Boateng who drives forward at speed but his ball for the onrushing Ivi finds the latter offside.
21 mins: Alba skips down the left and pulls it back for Paulinho whose heavy touch on the edge of the area upsets the swift flow of the move and Levante can regroup and clear. Boateng goes down with what looks like a calf twinge but can carry on.
19 mins: From the corner Levante manage to retain possession and spray it around on the edge of the area for a while before being harried out for a Barca throw.
18 mins: Levante have something about them on the counterattack with Lerma, Boateng and Doucoure but you can see why goals have been hard to come by. Rakitic and Messi are pulling plenty of strings elegantly when Barca get it though. Levante get another corner when Ivi picks the ball up 20 yards out, brings it down and sees a fierce low shot deflected behind.
16 mins: Levante get some respite and Doucoure bombs down the right behind the home side’s lines but Boateng makes a hash of the sharp low ball in, mis-hitting it rashly wide.
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14 mins: Alba, Messi and Iniesta combine beautifully down the left and the latter’s pull-back is cleared. Barcelona come again and Suarez’s firm swivel and close-range shot is beaten away. The expected pattern is now emerging.
Goal! Barcelona 1-0 Levante (Messi, 13)
That man again. Some trickery on the right from Demebele who plays in Roberto down the right, and after the ball is played in high for Alba who heads it precisely down for Messi who volleys it down against the right-hand post and it rebounds in. Barca lead without having impressed particularly thus far.
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11 mins: Up the other end, Iniesto dinks a ball in from the left for Suarez who can only scoop it tamely into the keeper’s hands.
10 mins: A Messi-Suarez one-two is well-blocked and cleared, enabling Ivi to smartly set up a counter, beating a couple of challenges and playing in Doucoure for a cross that Ter Stegen claws away and Barca clear the danger.
9 mins: Messi’s free-kick is curled tantalisingly towards the far post with the left foot, but it just about eludes everyone – including the keeper and onrushing Mascherano – and goes behind for a goalkick.
8 mins: Messi sees the ball for the first time and skips past a couple of challenges before being banjo-ed by a very late challenge from Lerma, who receives the game’s first booking.
6 mins: Barcelona get a chance to finally have a settled spell in possession, and Iniesta wins a free-kick just after halfway after drawing a rash challenge from Doucoure. The free-kick is lumped forward for Alba on the left channel but he’s flagged offside.
4 mins: Lerma seizes on a loose pass from Dembele in midfielder and drives forward to set up a cross from the right for Boateng that’s headed behind for another corner. This has been a sprightly start from Levante, a lazy one from Barça, but the corner is cleared easily enough.
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2 mins: Levante win an early corner as a long ball for Boateng to chase is turned behind by Mascherano, who’s expected to be off to China this month. The corner is cleared but played back into Lerma on the left-hand side of the box but he blasts it high over the bar from an angle.
Peep!
The visitors get us underway, Levante’s experimental line-up in a nominal 4-3-3, Barça 4-4-2.
It’s grey and wet in Catalonia, as the teams make their way out. Ground not full. Dembele finally making his first La Liga start at the Camp Nou.
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While we’re waiting, you can dip into some proper English FA Cup action, where Shrewsbury have looked the likelier side against West Ham in a first half that has just ended goalless. Nick Ames is talking us through that here.
The teams
Barcelona: Ter Stegen; S Roberto, Alba, Mascherano, Vermaelen; Paulinho, Iniesta, Rakitic, Dembélé; Messi, L Suárez. Subs: Cillesen, Semedo, Piqué, Digne, D Suarez, Gomes, Arnaiz.
Levante: Oier; Moore, Luna, Cabaco, Postigo; Lerma, Jason, Doukoure, Lukic; Ivi, Boateng, Jason. Subs: Raul, Tono Garcia, Rober Pier, Samuel, Coke, Nano, El Hacen.
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Anyway, it was a lively old day of action in La Liga yesterday. Diego Costa did the most Diego Costa-ish thing imaginable on his league return for Atletico Madrid, scoring and getting himself sent off in one fell swoop, while the Andulacian derby between Sevilla and Real Betis was a bit of a humdinger, the latter winning 5-3 with second-half goals from Riza Durmisi, Sergio Leon and Clement Lenglet taking the game away from the home side, who look as if they’ll struggle to gain another place in the Champions League.
Preamble
Afternoon everyone. “We’ve caught [PSG] peeing in the swimming pool and Neymar is peeing off the diving board.” Not my words, the words of La Liga president Javier Tebas, expressing his outrage in August over the whopping £198m deal that took the Brazilian from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. Anyway, turns out the water in that pool isn’t so rancid after all, with Barça jumping in themselves – their splurging of up to £142m on Philippe Coutinho is the big transfer talking point of the hour. Well that Neymar cash was never going to just sit there, and the former Liverpool playmaker joins Ousmane Dembélé, Nelson Semedo and Paulinho as chief Barça beneficiaries of that massive summer windfall.
But anyway, though for some the key appeal of January football is self-important men waving large sums of money about, there is some actual football to be played. And Barcelona’s first La Liga assignment since their imperious demolition of Real Madrid just before Christmas brings Levante up the coast to the Camp Nou. Juan Ramón López Muñiz’s side haven’t conceded in their past two league games – they’ve not scored either – as they dig in to avoid yo-yoing back to the second tier again, so the leaders may not have it all their own way.
Nonetheless, you’d expect Barça to stretch their lead at the top to nine points. Coutinho will be sitting in the stands, and doubtless the subject of many TV camera close-ups, as he gets to run the rule over his new muckers. The general sense is that the league title is almost in the bag for Ernesto Valverde’s team but Barcelona’s current place in the pan-European scheme of things is less easy to gauge after an autumn where the pace and attention was set by the lavishly bankrolled swagger of Manchester City and PSG. We’ll find out soon enough.
Kick-off 3.15pm GMT.
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Tom will be here soon.
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