Barcelona pounces on Real Madrid’s stumble and regains command of La Liga by winning 3-0 over Levante
MADRID (AP) — Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid’s stumble and regained leadership of the Spanish league with a 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each and Barcelona ended a run of two consecutive defeats to overtake rival Real, who lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
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Barcelona took a one-point lead over Real Madrid, who had won eight straight league victories before losing to Osasuna.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 defeat against Girona in the league and a 4-0 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
“It was important to win and get three more points,” said Barcelona defender João Cancelo. “Football gives you these comeback opportunities and that’s what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had managed just one clean sheet in their previous six matches in all competitions.
Good start for Barcelona
Bernal scored from close range 4 minutes into the match at the Camp Nou stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal for the first team two rounds ago in the victory against Mallorca.
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“They had an early chance, but my goal helped us settle down and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong doubled the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball bouncing off the post before going into the net.
Levante’s Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan prevented Barcelona from scoring a fourth goal with a pair of superb saves in a row in the final minutes, first on Raphinha’s header and then López’s point-blank shot on the rebound.
This is the fourth consecutive defeat for Levante, who occupy 19th place. They are one point ahead of Oviedo, bottom of the table, who have the game in hand.
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Levante have achieved just one victory in their last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th minute to return to the pitch after an injury.
Other results
Sevilla won 1-0 at Getafe in 10 games, their second win in their last 10 games in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored the winner in the 64th minute for the visitors. Getafe played a man less from the 26th after a direct red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
Third-placed Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, can restore a three-point gap to fourth-placed Atletico Madrid if they beat Valencia at home next Sunday. Atletico beat Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
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