Lamine Yamal scored two goals, helping Barcelona secure a thrilling 4-2 victory over Levante in La Liga on Sunday. This result allowed the Catalans to extend their perfect start to the season.
Hansi Flick's team regained its lead in the standings, increasing the gap to Real Madrid after the 'White Lions' beat Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid defeated Real Sociedad 3-0, scoring three late goals, which allowed them to take third place overall.
Match between Barcelona and Levante
Xavi Espart opened the scoring for the champions in Valencia, followed by a second goal from Yamal and another penalty early in the second half. Although Barça could have achieved a perfect record of five games, their defensive weaknesses were exposed when Ivan Romero and Roger Brugge brought Levante back into the game in the final minutes.
In stoppage time, substitute Karim Adeyemi secured the win for Barça with a stunning solo goal, breaking through at speed and beating Matthew Ryan.
Flick told reporters: 'Of course, this was not our best game. We had a great start. We struggled a bit in the second half.' He added that the team needs to work on improving its play, but he is satisfied with the result.
Barcelona defender Eric Garcia noted that the team relaxed a bit in the second half, and it almost cost them the victory. He emphasized that the match should teach them that if you give the opponent even a little space, they can take control.
The Catalans started the match aggressively at the Ciutat de València stadium, where Levante had not lost eight consecutive matches. The visitors took the lead in the fifth minute when Barça defender Espart scored with barely touching the ball.
'Barça' broke through the center of the Levante team too easily, and the 19-year-old player scored from the edge of the penalty area, taking advantage of a slight deflection. It was Espart's first goal for the club; the young midfielder was brought into the main squad by Flick this season and plays on the left flank.
Levante responded with a series of coordinated attacks, but Petar Ratkov could not deliver a worthy shot while in a good position, and Barça goalkeeper Joan Garcia excellently saved Brugge's shot.
Soon, Levante began to regret missed chances when Rafinha created the second goal for the young star Yamal. The Brazilian bypassed Ryan's goalkeeper and passed to Yamal, who powerfully slammed the ball into the empty net in the 19th minute.
Penalty
Yamal scored his second goal shortly after the restart, winning a foul and converting the penalty. The Spanish national team winger went past Aissa Mandi, and the resulting shot from fifteen yards sailed past Ryan, making it his seventh goal in four matches across all competitions.
Andreas Christensen deflected the shot from Romero, who aimed for the line, but the forward scored through an Espart error a few minutes later. Brugge capitalized on Mark Bernal's mistake to score the second goal and create a tense finish.
However, former Borussia Dortmund winger Adeyemi ended the home side's hopes of a point with a dynamic run through the defense and a cool finish.
In the Atletico Madrid vs. Real Sociedad match, the victory was secured by a late flurry of goals. Diego Simeone's team played without Julián Álvarez, who suffered a muscle injury during training on Saturday, but managed to return to winning ways after last week's defeat to Athletic Bilbao. Alejandro Gimáldo opened the scoring from a penalty after the 84th minute, and Canadian international Jonathan David scored his first goal for the club in the 90th minute. Julián Simeone sealed the 'Los Rojiblancos' victory deep into added time.
In other matches, Celta Vigo drew 1-1 at home against Málaga, and Getafe and Deportivo La Coruña also drew 1-1.