Barcelona fall to shock defeat at Levante
Barcelona fell to a shock 3-1 defeat away to Levante yesterday, ending a seven-game winning streak in all competitions.
Lionel Messi converted a first-half penalty at the City of Valencia Stadium for his sixth goal in five games to put Barca in the driving seat after 38 minutes.
Luis Suarez was forced off a few minutes later with an injury to his right calf and is now a doubt for Tuesday’s Champions League game at home to Slavia Prague.
Levante, though, stunned the defending champions with an quickfire treble shortly after the hour mark – their first three shots on target.
Jose Campana and Borja Mayoral scored in the 61st and 63rd minutes, before Nemanja Radoja added a third in the 68th.
Jose Campana levelled in the 61st minute following a quick-fire counter-attack after winning the ball in Barca’s half, then former Real Madrid striker Borja Mayoral put them ahead in the 63rd with a superb curling strike from outside the area.
Nemanja Radoja gave the home side extra breathing space with a third goal in the 67th on the volley following a free kick, while Messi put the ball in the net later to briefly give Barca hope but the goal was ruled out for offside by Antoine Griezmann after a VAR review.
It was Barca’s third defeat of the campaign and they still lead the standings on 22 points after 11 games but Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid can both climb above the Catalans if they win their matches later on Saturday.
“It was an even game but they took advantage of those seven minutes. It wasn’t a great performance from us but the result is excessive,” Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets said. We’re going to try and stay positive, we were on a great run which has now been broken but we’re still top and we have a lot more games to come.”
When asked whether he was considering stepping down as Barca manager after the match, Ernesto Valverde said: “Of course I’m not thinking about that, this is only one defeat.
“We have to react, we always do and it won’t be any different this time.
“Our aim was to try and go for a second goal after taking the lead but we weren’t able to create enough danger. We lacked organisation after the second half and had little control.”