Rumours of Barcelona's demise appear to have been greatly overstated. While the La Liga/European/everything champions have dropped eleven points so far this season (they only dropped eighteen all of last year), they're still a side capable of demolishing anyone unfortunate enough to stand in their path. Such a fate befell Levante at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona Vs. Levante, 2011 La Liga: Hosts Crush Levante In 5-0 Rout
Cesc Fabregas struck with two fantastic first half goals (one a very respectable flashing header from a Xavi free kick) and Isaac Cuenca added a third when he finished off a brilliant team move that saw the visiting. Levante looked somewhat capable going forward, but the more players they committed to the attack the easier it was for the hosts to break into the space behind them. Lionel Messi grabbed a forth goal shortly after the break, and the victory was capped off with what would have been the world's cheekiest finish had he actually meant the ball to deflect off Sergio Ballesteros's head, clip the crossbar, and fall in to make it 5-0.
Barcelona could and should have had more, with Andres Iniesta having a legitimate goal ruled out for no reason whatsoever very late in the match, but you don’t protest disallowed goals too much when you’re beating a team by five, and the hosts will be perfectly content with the results. They’re still three points off the top, but that was a strong message sent to Jose Mourinho and company.
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