Poor defense, Levante’s press, an inevitable attack | Three takeaways from Levante 2-4 Barcelona

Poor defense, Levante’s press, an inevitable attack | Three takeaways from Levante 2-4 Barcelona Levante handed Barcelona their most difficult outing yet on Sunday afternoon as they ran tirelessly and even came close to a stunning comeback late in the second half. Barcelona comfortably sailed to 2-0 up on the evening and even made it 3-0 immediately after the break when Lamine Yamal won a penalty and converted. Levante’s relentless press and spirited attacks, however, soon saw them pull two goals back and knock on the doors of a stunning remontada. A late Karim Adeyemi goal, however, killed things off and handed Barcelona all three points, but not before a massive scare and a reality check for Hansi Flick’s men. Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Levante 2-4 Barcelona. Bad day at the back Barcelona conceded a few unnecessary goals. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) Levante handed Barcelona all sorts of trouble this afternoon at the Ciudad de Valencia, and while the clash was known to be a tricky one well in advance, it ended up being the team’s toughest test yet. A big part of the reason why they faced such a steep challenge, however, was on themselves as they made matters more difficult than they were. For starters, Barcelona’s midfield had an off-day by far. Pedri looked out of rhythm and out of steam, and even Rodri was misplacing passes which directly led to Levante’s counter-attacks. Even Fermin Lopez, who has single-handedly carried Barcelona’s attacking midfield so far, was unable to keep up with the pressure and made errors. With Pedri and Rodri not at their best, the defence behind them came under increased pressure and it did not help that even they had an off-day. Gerard Martin’s first-half performance was appallingly poor as the player made 4-5 clear passing errors that led to Levante creating chances. He was taken off at half-time and replaced by Andreas Christensen, but the situation did not improve a whole lot. The Danish defender did make a goal-line clearance but was poorly placed and did not do nearly enough to prevent the hosts’ opening goal. For their second, both Eric Garcia and Pau Cubarsi were poorly positioned and beaten too easily. Levante’s relentless press While a lot can be said about Barcelona’s defence and midfield being poor, massive credit must be given to Levante for putting up a performance that had Barcelona shivering. From the moment they were 2-0 down, the hosts began pressing relentlessly. There was an expectation that their intensity would drop through fatigue at some point, but they kept going like machines. Levante created chance after chance, and for most of the second half, played with more dominance and opportunities than Barcelona. They hunted Barcelona’s midfield down with intent and stole the ball away before Barcelona could do anything meaningful with their possession, beating Flick at his own game. Over 90 minutes, they created an xG of 2.46 compared to Barcelona’s 2.63. Notably, Barcelona had a penalty, meaning Levante created more chances than Barcelona if the spot-kick is not considered. To come up against a side like Barcelona this season and beat them at their own game for a significant part of the match, needless to say, deserves much credit. Levante were indeed hard-done by the result. Barcelona’s attack is inevitable Adeyemi scored another wonderful goal vs Levante. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) The final, and clearest takeaway from Barcelona’s win over Levante last night is that the Catalans won despite being outplayed, and only one department was responsible for the same – the attack. With 22 goals in 5 games ahead of last afternoon’s clash, Barcelona boasted one of Europe’s most potent attacking departments this season and that trend continued last night. For all the defensive frailties and midfield weaknesses, Barcelona’s attack was simply unstoppable.  Levante began the game with a ridiculously low block and Barcelona managed to break through within five minutes with a great combination between Raphinha and Xavi Espart. They even made it 2-0 soon after when the Catalans hit out on a ruthless counter-attack and Raphinha found Lamine Yamal in the box for an easy finish. To score four goals from the xG they created, needless to say, required ridiculous attacking efficiency and Barcelona’s attack once again proved that they are simply inevitable.  Whatever the day, however the performance from the rest of the team, the attack is capable of winning games on its own if they can keep up the steam.