A Flat and Toothless Barcelona Escaped with an Undeserved Victory

A flat and toothless Barcelona went into halftime with an undeserved advantage thanks to a penalty converted by Messi, but the determination and intensity shown by Valencia in the second half were enough to expose the deficiencies of Ernesto Valverde's team.

Paco Lopez made the same starting lineup for the first time this season and his players responded well, going toe-to-toe with Barcelona and taking away possession in the early minutes, making it difficult for the visitors to create chances.

With Messi absent from the game, Barcelona's build-up play was completely harmless against a well-positioned Levante side that looked to counter quickly. The home side had a couple of dangerous moments, but lacked precision in their finishing.

Messi's first appearance in a dangerous area allowed Barcelona to create their first clear chance of the game after 30 minutes, but Levante goalkeeper Aitor denied Griezmann's shot in a one-on-one situation.

Neither De Jong nor Arthur could find a way to break through the defense with their passes, only the combination of Semedo and Griezmann posed a threat to the home side. It was from a play between the two that the penalty was awarded, with Miramon clearly fouling the Portuguese player, although there was an offside by the Frenchman in the initial phase of the play that went unnoticed.

Messi converted the penalty to give Barcelona the lead, and moments later, Luis Suarez got injured. In the closing moments of the first half, Barcelona had more clarity in their attacks and Messi came close to scoring a second goal.

In the second half, Levante came out determined and pinned Barcelona back in their own half. Barcelona defended well against the home team's pressure. Valverde's side tried to control the game through possession, but in a crazy ten-minute spell, Levante scored three goals and could have scored more.

The equalizer came from a recovery deep in Barcelona's half, which Campaña converted, and just two minutes later, Borja Mayoral scored from outside the box to complete the comeback. With Barcelona reeling, Mayoral missed a clear chance to make it 3-1 just a minute later.

Valverde brought on Busquets and Ansu Fati to provide more control and attacking threat, but barely after they came on, Levante scored their third goal. Radoja's shot hit Busquets and ended up in the back of the net.

Messi tried to work his magic and scored with 15 minutes to go, but his fantastic goal was disallowed after VAR review showed that Griezmann was offside. The second half was going Levante's way.

Barcelona was expected to mount a late assault in search for at least a draw, but their dominance was fruitless and Levante had no trouble defending. In stoppage time, Melero had a chance to make it 4-1 on the counterattack.