Barcelona are sitting pretty at the summit of La Liga again after a routine 3-0 dissection of basement boys Levante at Camp Nou.
Hansi Flick’s side took full advantage of Real Madrid’s shock 2-1 slip up at Osasuna on Saturday, moving a point clear of their Clasico rivals with a display that was part cruise control, part “we needed that”.
After a week from hell, a 4-0 Copa del Rey semi final first leg tonking by Atletico followed by a 2-1 league defeat to Girona, the Catalans were desperate for a response. They got one.
Teen sensation Marc Bernal set the tone on 14 minutes, latching onto Joao Cancelo’s clever work to sweep home his second goal since returning from that horror knee injury that kept him out for over a year.
The 18 year old’s celebration said it all, pointing to the sky for his old man and his physio. “He told me I would score and he has helped me a lot in this process,” Bernal beamed afterwards.
Frenkie de Jong doubled the lead before the break, again courtesy of Cancelo’s delivery, as the Portuguese full back reminded everyone what he’s about on just his second start since that January loan switch.
Flick was purring: “Joao today he showed his strength, his positive things, he gave us a lot of moments, great chances, for me it was a really good game from him and this is what I want to see.”
The second half was more of the same, Eric Garcia should have headed home a third but nodded wide from Jules Kounde’s tempting cross.
Step forward Fermin Lopez. The sub rifled home an absolute rocket 10 minutes from time, crashing one in off the post from distance to give the scoreline the gloss it deserved. He could’ve had another late on but for Mathew Ryan’s sharp reflexes.
There was even time for Pedri to make his comeback from a hamstring injury, a month out, but straight back into the fold for the run in.
Flick wasn’t getting carried about being top, though. “It was a really bad moment for us but in the end today we gave a good response,” he said. “It’s important now to be on top of the table but in the end there’s a long way to go.”
For Levante? Rock bottom, seven points from safety, and staring the drop square in the face. Carlos Alvarez admitted they had chances early doors but failed to take them. “If we’d have gone in front, who knows what could have happened,” he sighed.
Elsewhere, Villarreal cemented third with a 2-1 comeback win over Valencia in the east coast derby. Santi Comesana and Pape Gueye (pen) cancelled out Largie Ramazani’s early spot kick for the visitors.
Sevilla nicked it 1-0 at Getafe, Celta beat Mallorca 2-0, and the chasing pack all did their bit. But Sunday belonged to Barca. Back on top. Just about.
