Barcelona survive late Levante surge to win 4-2 at Ciutat de València

Barcelona took three points from Estadio Ciudad de Valencia with a 4-2 victory that flattered the scoreline more than the underlying numbers. The visitors dominated possession 75-25 and completed 711 passes at 91% accuracy, yet Levante generated the higher open-play expected goals (2.20 to 1.72) and created five big chances to Barcelona's three. The match finished with an xG tally of 2.63-2.46, almost perfectly mirroring the four-goal margin.

Barcelona struck early. In the fifth minute Raphinha slipped a pass into the right side of the box for Xavi Espart, who finished first-time with his right foot for a goal that carried just 0.06 xG. The lead doubled in the 19th minute when Raphinha again provided, cutting the ball back for Lamine Yamal to sweep a left-footed finish worth 0.72 xG. Barcelona's 4-3-3 kept the ball almost exclusively in Levante's half — 190 opposition-half passes to 28 in the opening 45 minutes — while Levante's 4-4-2 sat deep and relied on counter-attacks that never materialised. The hosts managed six shots to Barcelona's three but only two on target, and their solitary big chance came from a set piece (0.12 xG set-play).

The pattern held after the break. Yamal won and converted a penalty in the 48th minute (0.79 xG) to make it 3-0, his second goal taking his personal xG to 1.66. Barcelona continued to monopolise the ball — 359 accurate passes in the second half at 92% — but Levante began to find spaces in transition. The hosts' xG surged to 2.05 after the interval, driven almost entirely by open play (1.91).

Iván Romero pulled one back in the 79th minute with a right-footed finish (0.90 xG), and Roger Brugué added a second on a fast break in the 88th (0.50 xG). Brugué's goal, his first of the game, came from Levante's fourth big chance of the half and left Barcelona's defence exposed on the counter. The visitors responded instantly: Marc Bernal fed Karim Adeyemi in the 90th minute, and the substitute calmly slotted a right-footed shot (0.31 xG) to restore the two-goal advantage.

Yamal's brace and Raphinha's two assists defined Barcelona's attacking output. The 17-year-old took three shots, put two on target, and outperformed his xG by 0.34. Raphinha created both first-half goals from wide positions without registering a shot himself. For Levante, Brugué's late strike (0.74 xG on the night) and Romero's finish were the only rewards for a side that won 41 duels but completed just 171 passes all evening. Fermín López played 90 minutes in midfield for Barcelona, contributing 0.01 xG but helping maintain the passing rhythm that produced 376 opposition-half passes.