Barcelona Vs Levante: Cancelo MVP as Barça win 3-0 and reclaim LaLiga lead
In a match billed as barcelona vs levante, Barcelona won 3-0 at the Spotify Camp Nou and recovered the LaLiga lead; Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín scored while Joao Cancelo was named MVP.
Fast start set the tone for a comfortable win
Barcelona opened the scoring in the fourth minute when Marc Bernal finished from a move that began with Eric García. The home side needed little time to impose itself: an early Levante scare came at 18 seconds when Carlos Álvarez was through on goal but his shot was weak under pressure from Eric García, and Koundé had a chance at two minutes. At seven minutes a Ryan save denied Raphinha and Lewandowski then shot over with the goal gaping. The scoreline moved to 2-0 around the half-hour mark when Frenkie de Jong ran in from deep and finished from a Cancelo cross; that 2-0 held to halftime.
Barcelona Vs Levante: Cancelo the decisive catalyst
Joao Cancelo, 31, played on the left despite being right-footed and took a starring role. He participated in the origin of the first goal and set up the second for De Jong, and his attacking runs and crosses earned him the match MVP award. Cancelo described it as his best match since returning to the club on loan this winter and said he had been training well and felt the coach would give him the chance. He added that he sees himself as an offensive fullback but put the emphasis on the collective victory and on making the most of a second opportunity after two poor results.
Second half details, Pedri’s return and Fermín’s finish
Pedri was back in the matchday squad and came on after the hour mark alongside Ferran and Fermín; Fermín had been rested to start. The Levante spell of possession after those substitutions failed to produce danger, and Fermín sealed the score with a left-foot strike from outside the area to make it 3-0. Levante goalkeeper Ryan produced a pair of spectacular saves late on, first to deny a Raphinha header and then to repel a close-range attempt by Fermín.
Signs in the numbers and the aftermath
The win pushed Barcelona back to first place in LaLiga — they needed only four minutes of play to retake the lead after the Bernal goal — and extended their run of scoring in LaLiga to 45 consecutive matches, the club's best streak since a 64-game run from 4 February 2012 to 5 October 2013. The victory also leaves Levante deeper in trouble: they missed two clear chances early, paid for those misses, and this was their fourth consecutive defeat; the context describes them as sinking in the table.
Other match details: Eric García assisted Bernal; Joan García pulled off a one-on-one save from Olasagasti for Levante; a long-range strike from Tunde offered a momentary threat for the visitors; Lamine Yamal sent a low centre-shot narrowly wide before halftime. Hansi Flick’s side had given rest to Cubarsí, Balde, Fermín and Ferran in the starting lineup, with Pedri named on the bench before coming on. A match report of the victory was written by Santi Giménez.
The coverage included several stand-alone remarks in Spanish whose attribution is unclear in the provided context: "En esa jugada he visto el hueco y me ha salido un buen gol. Me da igual la izquierda que la derecha"; "De pequeño no podía tirar mucho porque era muy pequeñito. En Linares me insistieron mucho en eso y cuando volví lo tenía trabajado"; and "Hemos hecho autocrítica. Hoy hemos hecho un gran partido y esta es la línea a seguir". Separately, Joan Laporta commented in campaign mode: “¿El Madrid? Para una vez que no les regalan un piscinazo... que no se quejen”.
The club now faces the immediate task of trying to overturn a Copa tie after a 4-0 defeat at the Metropolitano, a comeback Flick described as the next step. The next confirmed event in the schedule is that Barcelona will attempt that cup turnaround following this league victory.
