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Barcelona travelled to Ciutat de Valencia with hopes of keeping their unbeaten run intact. However, it was not to be as they slumped to a defeat in what was a highly entertaining match.
The first half saw Levante take a quick lead of two goals with both goals coming from Emanuel Boateng. Phillipe Coutinho pulled one back for Barcelona. If the first half was anything to go by, one could very certainly predict that this was going to be a goal-fest.
The second half certainly did not disappoint. Both teams scored three each with hattricks for Emanuel Boateng and Phillipe Coutinho. Enis Bardhi scored a brace for Levante while Luis Suarez scored from the spot to give some hopes to Barcelona faithful.
Let’s take a look at how the players fared for both the teams:
Levante
Oier Olazabel: 6/10
It certainly was not a goalkeeper's night, just as the scoreline suggests. He could have done little about the goals except maybe Coutinho's second one, where his save was parried into his way.
Coke: 5.5/10
This was not a match he would like to remember as he was beaten quite often by Coutinho. Additionally, he was disappointing in the attack.
Sergio Postigo: 6.5/10
A solid performance for the centre-back, he kept Suarez well in check for the entire duration of the match. Apart from that, he played the ball well out of his defence.
Rober Pier: 7/10
Pier put in a good performance as he was constantly in the way of Suarez and company, keeping them at bay for the majority of the game. He made a string of important interceptions and tackles to keep Levante in the game.
Antonio Luna: 5.5/10
Luna had a game to forget tonight. He was shoddy in the first half and always struggled against the pace of Nelson Semedo. However, he did improve in the second half, he did improve and never gave Barcelona enough space to finish off the game.
Jose Luis Morales: 7/10
He very much embodied the team on the night – full of running and energy. Morales was always available in space, free for a pass. He covered a lot of ground and pressed well to keep the Barcelona midfield in check.
Sasa Lukic: 6.5/10
His passing was awesome, his tackling was great and he made a few penetrating runs which always caused problems for Barcelona. He, alongside Campana, absolutely bossed the midfield against the likes of Busquets and Iniesta. However, being the defensive midfield it was his responsibility to keep a check on shots from outside the box, a job where he failed.
Jose Campana: 7/10
This was not a flashy performance for Jose Campana, however, it was an effective one. He dispossessed Barcelona’s midfielders quite a few times and used the ball efficiently.
Enis Bardhi: 9/10
He scored a brace with two great finishes and was full of energy on Levante’s right. Always looking to attack, he, though, was guilty of being wasteful a few times.
Roger Marti: 7/10
Marti showed good awareness and passing ability, which gave Levante control in the first half. He was also important after the break as he pressed diligently.
Emmanuel Boateng: 10/10
Boateng popped up everywhere in Barca’s defensive third and was a threat every time he was on the ball. He opened the scoring with a lucky finish but went on to score twice more to complete his hattrick.
Substitutes
Jefferson Lerma: 5/10
He was brought on to give his midfield some spine and restrict Barcelona's attacks. However, he failed to do his job fully as Barcelona almost made a historic comeback.
Giampaolo Pazzini: NA
Very late substitution did not have time to affect the game.
Ruben Rochina: NA
Very late substitution did not have time to affect the game.
Barcelona
Ter Stegen: 6/10
The German was not at fault for any of the goal conceded but neither could have done anything to stop anyone of them. He did make a couple of saves, however, conceding five does go against him.
Nelson Semedo: 6/10
The Portugues full-back was the best Barcelona defender on the night. He dealt with most of the attacks coming down his way well enough. He was also an engine on Barca's right, always shuttling up and down with meaningful contributions at both ends.
Yerry Mina: 5/10
The young defender, alongside his senior defensive partners, had a game to forget. He won most of the tackles and imposed himself physically, however, he was all over the place positionally.
Thomas Vermaelen: 4/10
The Belgium international had a shocker of the game. Though many might argue that he was not provided adequate cover by his midfield, Vermaelen could still have done a better job at keeping Levante at bay.
Jordi Alba: 5/10
Jordi Alba was quite overwhelmed by the forays coming down his side with Emanuel Boateng having a field day on that side of the pitch. Attacking wise, he was not quite up there alongside his usual standards.
Sergio Busquets: 4.5/10
Sergio Busquets had a rare day off and it is no surprise that Barca catapulted defensively today. While his passing too was not at his usual best, his screening of the defence was suspect too.
Andres Iniesta: 6/10
Having announced his exit just a few days ago, Iniesta did not have the best of the games. The Spaniard struggled to take control of the game and was too slow in defence in comparison to Levante’s swift counter-attacks.
Ivan Rakitic: 6/10
The Croat was a willing runner in the midfield. He covered for his fullbacks and then contributed going forward as well. However, for all his hard work, he could not exert himself over Levante's midfield as Barcelona suffered time after time.
Phillipe Coutinho: 9/10
He was the best Barca attacker on the night. However, with Dembele and Suarez both off colour, he alone could not muster much but he did beat the goalkeeper more than once, thrice to be precise, and was looking dangerous on Barca’s right.
Luis Suarez: 5/10
Luis Suarez was anonymous for most of the match and this could be attested by the fact that he had just two shot on target in the entire game, one of which was a penalty he scored from. He will want to forget the game very quickly.
Ousmane Dembele: 4/10
This was again a game to forget for Dembele. He struggled to cause too many problems and his final passes were poor. He failed to provide any end product as Barcelona struggled to score.
Substitutes
Gerard Pique: 6/10
Brought on for Vermaelen, he added calmness to Barcelona's defence and disrupted Levante's attacks a fair number of times. His unwillingness to lose was quite on display as he forayed forward on a number of occasions and did well.
Paco Alcacer: 5/10
Brought on for Ousmane Dembele, he was fairly anonymous this whole time, just like his predecessor.
Denis Suarez: 7/10
Coming on for Iniesta, his introduction did spur Barcelona on as they looked more threatening with him on the pitch rather than on the bench.
