Barcelona's Perfect Start Survives Levante Scare

Barcelona walked out of Levante with a 4-2 win, a fifth straight victory, and a reminder that this new era under Hansi Flick will not be built on attack alone.

It was breathless, messy, and at times wide open. It was also brutally effective.

Lamine Yamal struck twice, Xavi Espart scored his first senior goal, and Karim Adeyemi came off the bench to kill the game late on. That frontline quality dragged Barça through a contest that slipped out of their control more than once.

Flick takes blame amid defensive cracks

The scoreline flatters the visitors’ authority. Levante repeatedly exposed a porous back line, and Flick did not try to hide behind the result.

“We are happy because in the end we won 4-2. I think the goals we conceded came from mistakes we made, but for the first goal, I think the mistake was mine,” he admitted.

The turning point he referenced was simple, and damning in its own way. Xavi Espart was cramping. The staff were ready to act. Flick delayed.

“We wanted to substitute Xavi because he was having some cramps, and I said: ‘Okay, let’s wait until the next stoppage.’ Maybe if we had changed him at that moment, we would not have conceded that goal.”

Levante took advantage. Barça wobbled. For a spell, the game threatened to tilt.

Yet the win also carried historical weight. Flick has now matched Barcelona’s best-ever start to a season, but he brushed off the milestone as quickly as it was put to him.

“I am proud. I am proud of my team, and I am proud of the club. But in the end, this is only the beginning. I do not look too much at the numbers, because they also belong to the past.”

The numbers on the pitch, though, are hard to ignore. Twenty-one goals in five matches underline a side overflowing with attacking options. Flick, though, keeps circling back to the other side of the ball.

“Yes, of course, but also the way we defend is important. Normally, they pressed us very well today. I also think the pitch was not in the best condition. So it was not an easy match,” he said.

Asked if the chaotic spells were another warning about what happens when intensity drops, he did not sugar-coat it: “If you do not give 100%, things like this happen.”

Espart’s breakthrough, Adeyemi’s reminder

Amid the defensive concerns, there were individual stories that will echo beyond this night.

Xavi Espart’s first senior goal for Barça felt like a landmark. Flick’s assessment was cool, but full of approval.

“At the moment he is doing well. Technically he is good, tactically as well. And physically he is 100% ready and he is proving it. He is playing at a great level.”

Then came Adeyemi. Introduced late, he delivered exactly what Flick demands from his bench: impact.

“No, I am not surprised, because when he is focused, he is a fantastic player. That is what he has to deliver,” Flick said.

His fourth goal sealed the game and underlined the point.

“Especially with the fourth goal, he was fantastic. In that situation you can see that he has something special.”

On a night when Levante kept finding gaps, Adeyemi’s sharpness in the final third provided the calmest moment of all.

Gordon’s graft, goals still to come

Not everyone in Barça’s attack sparkled. Anthony Gordon worked, combined, and linked play, but again left without a goal.

Flick, though, was quick to defend him and his role in the system.

“I think Anthony gives us a lot, especially when he receives the ball. He is always able to control it and then pass it to one of our players, and therefore keep possession,” he said.

“Of course, as an attacker, when you have chances, you want to score. I hope he scores very soon, because that will also help him integrate completely. But I am happy with him, and I really appreciate what he gives us.”

Gordon has been an assist machine in the early weeks of the season. This, however, was not his sharpest outing. On this occasion, Adeyemi did what Gordon could not, driving in from the left and finishing the contest with authority.

That is the luxury Flick currently enjoys. Depth. Options. Players ready to step in and tilt matches when others falter.

Barcelona leave Levante still perfect, still scoring at will, but with fresh evidence that their margin for error without the ball is thin. If the attack keeps blazing and the defending lags behind, how long can this balance hold at the top level?