Levante vs Barcelona

in #soccer5 years ago

Cabaco and Mayoral scored as Levante shocked Barca to claim a well deserved 2-1 victory in their Copa del Rey round of 16 first leg.
With Messi and Luis Suarez being excluded from the match, Coutinho was given a start in the game alongside Dembele and Malcom. The Barcelona attack failing to shine, Levante took the game away from them in the first half and managed to hold onto their lead.
Levante started mounting the pressure on Barca from the start of the game and it wasn't long before they grabbed the first goal.
Levante winning a free kick on the left. Ruben Rochina launching it into the box, with an unmarked Erick Cabaco finding the net with a fine header.
Levante soon doubled their lead by the 18th minute mark, leaving Barca trailing early on. Borja Mayoral, who is on loan from Real Madrid, scoring Levante's second after being put through by Emmanuel Boateng.
A Barcelona side with with some changes failed to pose a serious attacking threat to Levante and they didn't have an answer for the 2 goal deficit in the first half.
Barca improved a little during the second period but it wasn't the most convincing of displays. With Levante still looking the bigger threat.
Denis Suarez who later came on as a substitute, won Barca a penalty, after his dribbling run into the box ended with Coke taking him down with a clumsy tackle. Coutinho took the spot kick and pulled one back for Barcelona.
Levante took a well deserved victory after a poor Barca performance, with a Barca side with some Junior players and a different attack but it'll probably be a different story in the second leg. The manager resisted the temptation to bring on Suarez and Messi to salvage the game but we'll probably see a different squad next time.