Barcelona maintains perfect record despite Levante scare

Barcelona walked out of Valencia with their 100% record intact, but not much else felt tidy.

A 4-2 win at Levante sounds routine. It wasn’t. It was wild, open, and at times exactly the kind of game Hansi Flick does not want his team to play.

Lamine Yamal struck twice, Xavi Espart scored his first senior goal, and Karim Adeyemi killed the contest late on as Barça made it five wins from five. The attack did its job. The control, Flick’s obsession, came and went.

Flick wins again, but not on his terms

Flick did not hide behind the scoreline.

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

The admission was specific, not vague. Espart, cramping and struggling, was supposed to come off. 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 of that hesitation. Barcelona’s defence, already looking porous, paid the price.

The result still ties Barça’s best-ever start to a season. Flick acknowledged the milestone, but he refused to bask in it.

“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.”

Goals flowing, doubts lingering

Twenty-one goals in five league games should be the headline. It isn’t, at least not for Flick.

“Yes, of course,” he said when asked about the attacking return, “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.”

Barcelona were forced into uncomfortable areas, rushed in possession, stretched without the ball. When the intensity dipped, Levante pounced.

Asked if this was another warning about what happens when the team drops its level, Flick’s response was blunt: “If you do not give 100%, things like this happen.”

The message was clear. The scoreline flatters the performance more than the coach.

Espart’s first, Adeyemi’s reminder

On a night of nerves at the back, two attacking performances stood out for the right reasons.

Espart, still feeling his way into the senior side, delivered a landmark moment with his first goal for Barça. Flick’s praise was measured but strong.

“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.”

Adeyemi, introduced late, brought something different: certainty. His strike for the fourth goal ended Levante’s hopes and underlined exactly why Flick pushed for him.

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

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

On a heavy pitch and in a messy game, that moment of clarity from Adeyemi stood out.

Gordon’s drought, coach’s faith

Not everyone in Barça’s front line is flying.

Anthony Gordon, so far more creator than finisher in this new-look side, went another game without a goal. His performance against Levante was far from his best, but Flick was in no mood to turn it into a problem.

“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 so far, even if this was not his sharpest outing. The comfort for Barça is that when one wide player dips, another steps in. Adeyemi did what Gordon could not in Valencia, and the left flank looks set to be a running battle between the pair all season.

Perfect record, imperfect team

Five games, five wins, 21 goals. On paper, Barcelona are rolling.

On the grass, the story is more nuanced. Flick’s team can overwhelm opponents with pace and quality in the final third, but the cracks without the ball keep reappearing. The coach knows it, and he is saying it out loud.

This start has matched the club’s best. The question now is whether Barça can turn this thrilling, fragile version of themselves into a side that not only wins, but controls.