Barça keeps scoring goals, sometimes as a result of the play and sometimes simply by inertia, as happened at the Ciutat de València, a stadium where no one had won since February, the scene of six consecutive victories, the last by 5-2 against Betis. The firepower of the Barcelonans made the difference against the brave Levante. Flick’s team had to win the match with both starters and substitutes after Luís Castro’s squad threatened a historic comeback against the league leader. Going with the flow from the start, Barcelona let go when the score was 0-3. A bad decision because they don’t know how to rest with the ball nor defend against opponents who attack them fearlessly, unabashedly, like Levante. The 2-3 lasted long enough for Flick to get impatient and look at the clock to see how much time was left before the magical Adeyemi burst in with the 2-4.
Individual causes and specific actions prevailed over collective ones at Barça. Raphinha’s control at 0-2 was excellent, Lamine tried to gain votes for the Ballon d’Or with his two goals — he now has seven —, Espart keeps growing as a universal footballer in a squad with a broad sense of total football, and Adeyemi has the gift of scoring fabulous goals, some as important as the one scored in Orriols. No one remembered the Barça of five goals when Brugué scored. Defensive concessions endangered a well-earned result thanks to the forwards’ effectiveness on the day when no goal from Raphinha was counted. Flick had already warned that his team only makes sense when they give their all, and at Ciutat de València they let go too early. Unbalanced and vulnerable when they didn’t press, they stopped being intense and stopped being vertical towards Ryan’s goal.
Although the squad’s depth and quality have improved, the feeling is that the preferred lineup currently includes Rodri, Pedri, and Fermín as midfielders, while Xavi Espart plays as left-back and Gordon completes the attack with Lamine and Raphinha. The match sheet was at least unequivocal because Barça lined up with the same team as in Mestalla. The script was also similar despite the change of protagonists because after four minutes the blaugranas were already leading with a goal from Espart. The defender appeared on the edge of the area after a possession-heavy play and crossed the ball following Dela’s unfortunate touch.
They don’t need to know where they are to know what they are going to do.
🪄🎯 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐒 𝐈𝐒 𝐑𝐀𝐏𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐇𝐀 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐋𝐀𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐄 𝐒.𝐋.#LALIGAEASPORTS #LaCasaDelFútbol pic.twitter.com/tiffz9zxAcRead more Trump rejects warnings about AI risks
— Movistar Plus Deportes (@MPlusDeportes) September 13, 2026
Barça’s security did not diminish Levante’s confidence. They were not scared by the goal against and even forced a very good intervention from Joan García before the 0-2. A counterattack goal, started by Lamine, set up by Raphinha, and finished by Lamine, very different from the 0-1, managed from build-up play, a sign of Barcelona’s variety of attacking resources. The abundance of forwards on the Barcelona side was offset by defensive deficiencies, especially the instability of the stunned Gerard Martín, replaced by Christensen. Lack of accuracy penalized Levante during Barça’s absent moments, overly confident in their effectiveness, very sluggish and impatient, repetitive in losing the ball, and exposed to Víctor García’s shots. Castro’s team did not finish plays and Flick’s team did not know how to play even when they scored the 0-3.
Barça replicated the start of the first half in the second when Lamine forced and converted a penalty from Mandi. The winger’s attitude was especially commendable because instead of asking for a handball from the opponent, he fought for the play until he was fouled and got the captain Raphinha’s approval to count his seventh goal. Flick’s changes confirmed that Barcelona considered the match over prematurely and the team was at the mercy of Levante’s momentum. A mistake by Espart and Christensen enabled Romero at 1-3 and then Brugué found the reward for his faith in a rebound to make it 2-3 after even outrunning Cubarsí.
The moment was critical for Barça’s substitutes until Adeyemi appeared and ended Levante’s hope and Barça’s distress. In the absence of better play, goals were more decisive than ever for a Barça challenged by an unexpected rival like Levante.
