Luuk de Jong scored a goal in the 92nd minute on Sunday to help Barcelona beat Levante and move into second place in La Liga. It was a five-goal thriller.
De Jong scored a late goal, his sixth in the league for Barcelona, to help Barca beat Valencia 3-2. The 19-year-old Pedri came off the bench and changed the game.
If the team is too dependent on Pedri, the coach said: I don’t know, “But he is a great player. I wouldn’t say that. When I talk about him, I don’t hold back. He is a player who makes people happy and excited.”
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A quick 11 minutes in the second half saw Levante score one penalty through Jose Luis Morales in the 52nd minute, then miss a second through Roger Marti in the 55th. Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved them both.
When Pedri came on, Barcelona had a goal in the 56th minute. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang headed in Ousmane Dembele’s cross to score his 10th goal for his new club, making it 1-1.
Barcelona took the lead through Pedri with a first-time finish into the corner, but Levante equalised with a penalty in the 63rd minute. Gonzalo Melero made sure of it this time, too.
When De Jong scored, Levante looked like they would get the point. He met Jordi Alba’s cross and headed in at the near post to make it a win.
We show a winning mindset when we don’t play well and still come through, said Xavi, who played for Spain.
Still 12 points behind Real Madrid, Getafe beat Barcelona 2-0 on Saturday.
This means that his team has a game in hand over Real Madrid, Sevilla and Atletico Madrid. Atletico Madrid lost on Saturday, so they are three points behind fourth place.
Pedri scored a brilliant goal against Sevilla last weekend. The midfielder rested against Levante at first, but Barcelona was a different team when he came on.
Aubameyang, on the other hand, has kept up his excellent form since leaving Arsenal in January. After 14 games with his new team, the Gabonese striker now has 10 goals.
Levante was all over Barcelona early on, and Morales’ goal looked like it was going in. After a weaving run, Morales looked like he would score, but Eric Garcia made an excellent goal-line clearance. Garcia ran back to try to hook away.
When Dani Alves leaned into Son to stop him from getting a one-two, Morales scored from the spot. Ferran Torres went close two more times.
Three minutes later, Levante was given another penalty when the ball fell on the arm of Garcia and hit him. Morales gave this spot-kick to Roger, but Ter Stegen palmed away Roger’s low shot to the left.
Levante knew a chance had been missed, so Barca played faster when Pedri was on the field. The teenager played the key pass out to Dembele, who crossed for Aubameyang to head in.
Gavi snuck past two Levante defenders and set up Pedri, who bent the ball first time into the far corner to put Barcelona in front.
Then, though, Levante came back. After Clement Lenglet fouled Dani Gomez, Melero fired their third-night penalty. It looked like they had won the game.
De Jong, who came in for Aubameyang, had other ideas. In the 92nd minute, he ran into the area, and Alba’s curving cross found him. A goal by De Jong was inside the post.
