Lamine Yamal's brace helps Barcelona beat Levante 4-2 and stay top of La Liga

Barcelona left Valencia with all three points and a 4-2 scoreline that flattered their late control more than their second-half grip. Lamine Yamal scored twice, Xavi Espart opened his first-team account and Karim Adeyemi settled a frantic finish as Hansi Flick’s side made it five wins from five in La Liga.

Hansi Flick’s side now sit three points clear of Real Madrid after five wins from five. The champions were 3-0 up before two sloppy errors invited Levante back into the contest, only for substitute Karim Adeyemi to settle it in stoppage time.

Xavi Espart and Lamine Yamal strike early

Hansi Flick had warned his players not to ease off after a flying start to the season. They answered in the fifth minute. After a long spell of possession, Raphinha found academy midfielder Xavi Espart on the edge of the box. The 19-year-old, starting at left-back, finished with a slight deflection for his first Barcelona goal.

Levante pushed back. Petar Ratkov could not get a clean shot away and Joan Garcia saved well from Roger Bruguee. Those misses mattered. In the 19th minute, Fermin Lopez released Raphinha, who rounded Mathew Ryan and squared for Yamal to smash into an empty net.

The heat and some heavy tackles then slowed the game. Barcelona still led 2-0 at the break.

Lamine Yamal converts the penalty he won

The third goal arrived just after half-time. Lamine Yamal was clipped from behind by Aissa Mandi inside the area and took the penalty himself, driving it past Ryan for his seventh goal in four games across all competitions.

Flick took Yamal off in the 66th minute, along with Pedri and Anthony Gordon, bringing on Dani Olmo, Marc Bernal and Adeyemi with the result looking safe.

Levante fight back before Karim Adeyemi finishes it

It was not safe. Andreas Christensen had already cleared an Ivan Romero effort off the line. In the 79th minute, Espart gave the ball away with a loose pass, and Romero nipped in to score. Nine minutes later Brugue capitalised on a Bernal error. Garcia saved the first shot, but the Levante striker tucked in the rebound to make it 3-2.

Karim Adeyemi ended the comeback. The former Borussia Dortmund winger collected the ball about 35 yards out, burst through the defence and finished calmly in the 93rd minute.

Looking ahead

Barcelona host promoted Racing Santander on Wednesday. Levante welcome Athletic Bilbao.