Levante - Alavés: Carlos Espí's late brace secures 2-0 win as Parada is sent off amid Coudet exit rumors
Levante beat Deportivo Alavés 2-0 at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia in the opening match of LaLiga Matchday Nº26, a result that lifts home hopes and piles pressure on the visitors. The fixture matters now because the win keeps Levante's survival bid alive while the game unfolded amid persistent talk linking Alavés coach Eduardo Coudet to a move to River Plate.
Levante - Alavés: scoreline and decisive moments
Carlos Espí completed a late double to settle the contest, opening the scoring in the closing stages of the match and sealing the victory in the sixth minute of stoppage time (96'). Accounts place his opener around the 43rd minute of the second half (noted in some reports as the 87th minute), and his second strike came at 96'. The win moved Levante off the immediate danger of the table and left Alavés closer to relegation in a game played at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia.
Carlos Espí: 20-year-old youth product delivers and contract news
The match was defined by Carlos Espí, a 20-year-old canterano from Tavernes de la Valldigna who this week renewed his contract with Levante until 2028. Brought on by coach Luís Castro in a tactical choice that preferred Espí over Karl Etta Eyong, the forward converted two late chances to bring three vital points and inject fresh hope into Levante's fight for survival.
Víctor Parada red card and referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso's role
Fifteen minutes into the second half the Alavés left back Víctor Parada was sent off for a second yellow, reducing the visitors to ten men and shifting momentum decisively. The dismissal, administered by referee Francisco José Hernández Maeso and reviewed by VAR Mario Mel, triggered a period of home dominance that led directly to Espí's goals. Observers described the expulsion as controversial; thereafter neither the post nor goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco Sivera could prevent Levante's late strikes.
Match flow: early chances, defensive interventions and substitutions
Levante started sharply, with Iván Romero and Carlos Álvarez creating early openings — Álvarez was playing his 100th match for the club. Alavés responded with clear chances from Antonio Blanco and other attempts that goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco Sivera and defenders Ryan and Dela materially kept out, including a goal-line clearance by Dela from a Carles Aleñá effort. After the red card, Coudet reacted with a substitution, bringing Facundo Garcés on for Toni Martínez in an effort to shore up the defense.
The full list of substitutions in the match was: Carlos Espí on for Carlos Álvarez (56'), Oriol Rey on for Ugo Raghouber (57'), Facundo Garcés on for Toni Martínez (62'), José Luis Morales on for Paco Cortés (68'), Ander Guevara on for Carles Aleñá (71'), Karl Etta Eyong on for Iván Romero (78'), Iker Losada on for Kareem Tunde (78'), Abde Rebbach on for Ángel Pérez (89') and Carlos Protesoni on for Antonio Blanco (90').
Eduardo Coudet, River interest and contractual framework
The match unfolded amid persistent talk that River Plate has targeted Eduardo Coudet as Marcelo Gallardo's potential successor after Gallardo directed his last game for the Argentine club this past Thursday. Coudet, nicknamed "Chacho" at Alavés, publicly denied contact with River, swearing "by his children" that no one from the Argentine club had called him. Any club wanting to sign Coudet would need to negotiate with Alavés because his contract with the Basque club runs until 30 June, the end of the season.
Table context: points, runs and broader implications
Levante entered the game in a precarious position: second-to-last with 21 points and four points from the last-placed side that, based on match scheduling, would be safe today with one extra match played. Alavés sat on 27 points, only three from the relegation zone. Both teams arrived in irregular form: Levante had lost its previous four matches, while Alavés had managed only a couple of draws in its four most recent outings, counting this Friday, and had also been eliminated from the Copa del Rey during that stretch.
What makes this notable is the timing: a key relegation clash produced a defining late performance from a 20-year-old academy player just as managerial speculation surrounding Coudet intensified. The immediate effect is twofold — Levante gains crucial breathing room in the table, and Alavés must regroup quickly with its coach under both competitive and off-field scrutiny.
The result leaves Levante with renewed hope and drags Alavés deeper into the discussion over survival and managerial future, setting up pressure on both squads as LaLiga progresses.
