Barcelona suffer title bow as Levante rescue a point in six-goal thriller
Barcelona missed yet another chance to go top of La Liga as Ronald Koeman’s twice threw away a lead to draw 3-3 against Levante.
The Catalans had previously spurned two different opportunities to hit the front of the Spanish title race, losing to Granada and drawing against Atletico Madrid on Saturday, and having led 2-0 and 3-2 they once again failed to move into first place.
⚔️🐸 FINAAAAAAAAAL 🐸⚔️#LevanteUD 3-3 @FCBarcelona_es #LevanteBarça pic.twitter.com/Ntk7ENb8SU
— Levante UD 🐸 (@LevanteUD) May 11, 2021
Barcelona dominated from the start and broke the deadlock after 25 minutes when Lionel Messi guided a volley while falling backwards into the back of the net from a deflected Jordi Alba delivery into the box.
🟢 @sergino_dest, @MartinBraith
🔴 @Dembouz, @AntoGriezmann #LevanteBarça pic.twitter.com/3nh3RWB5aG— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 11, 2021
Pedri doubled his team’s advantage soon after, converting a Frenkie de Jong cut back having missed two good opportunities before that as Barcelona gave themselves a two-goal cushion.
However, Levante gained a foothold in the match 12 minutes into the second half when Gonzalo Melero got in front of substitute Sergi Roberto to head home a delivery from only a few yards out.
An incredible comeback by the home side was completed on the hour mark, with Jose Luis Morales making the most of some slack possession play by Barcelona to unleash a low finish.
Full Time pic.twitter.com/pZiiF1hfp7
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) May 11, 2021
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Ousmane Dembele put Barcelona back in front just four minutes later, benefiting from the break of the ball on the edge of the opposition penalty area to power a strike past Aitor Fernandez.
This looked like being the winner until Sergio Leon came off the bench to net a third goal for Levante, beating Gerard Pique to a low cross to flick in at the near post. The point moves Barcelona up to second place, one point behind Atletico Madrid, but both Madrid clubs have a game in-hand.