Barcelona survives 3 penalties, moves back into 2nd place

Not even conceding three penalty kicks was enough to stop Barcelona’s impressive run.

Barcelona rallied to a 3-2 win against second-to-last Levante in the Spanish league on Sunday, with substitute Luuk de Jong scoring in stoppage time after the Catalan club had conceded three penalties in the second half.

The win extended Barcelona's unbeaten run to 15 matches in all competitions and moved the team back into second place in the league after it was leapfrogged by Sevilla on Saturday.

Barcelona's Pedri, left, loses his boot as Levante's Son tries to tackle him during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Barcelona is 12 points behind leader Real Madrid with a game in hand. Madrid beat Getafe 2-0 on Saturday.

Barcelona’s rally began after coach Xavi Hernández put Pedri González into the game early in the second half with the team a goal down. The 19-year-old playmaker was rested ahead of Barcelona’s return leg against Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarterfinals of the Europa League on Thursday. Barcelona and Eintracht drew the first leg 1-1 in Germany last week.

José Luis Morales put Levante ahead by converting a penalty kick in the 52nd after a foul by Dani Alves. The second penalty for the hosts came four minutes later after a handball by Barcelona defender Eric García, with Roger Martí missing from the spot.

Barcelona's Pedri reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized for Barcelona with a header off a cross by Ousmane Dembélé in the 59th, and Pedri scored the go-ahead goal from inside the area in the 63rd.

Levante evened the match after another penalty in the 83rd after a foul by Barcelona defender Clément Lenglet, with Gonzalo Melero converting his shot from the spot before De Jong got the late winner after a well-placed cross by Jordi Alba.

Barcelona's last loss was at Athletic Bilbao in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey in January.

Barcelona's Luuk de Jong, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Levante stayed tied on points with last-place Alavés. It is seven points from safety.

SOCIEDAD IN CONTENTION

Real Sociedad continued its push for a Champions League spot with a 2-1 win at Elche.

Alexander Sorloth and Robin Le Normand scored less than 10 minutes apart in the first half to help Sociedad get within three points of fourth-place Atlético Madrid with seven rounds to go.

Barcelona's Luuk de Jong, right, celebrates after scoring his side's third goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

It was the third win in the last four matches for sixth-place Sociedad, which sits two points behind Real Betis in fifth.

Elche, which opened the scoring with Guido Carrillo in the third minute, stayed in 15th place, four points above the relegation zone. It has lost three in a row.

Sorloth scored in the 31st and Le Normand in the 39th, both after assists from veteran David Silva.

Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez claps his hands during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Sociedad forward Alexander Isak scored from a penalty kick but it was disallowed as he faked his shot to fool the goalkeeper before sending the ball into the net.

OTHER RESULTS

China forward Wu Lei scored in the 89th for his first goal of the season as Espanyol beat Celta Vigo 1-0 at home in a match between teams near the middle of the table.

Barcelona's Pedri, left, celebrates after scoring his side's second goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Earlier, 10th-place Osasuna scored in stoppage time with a goal from Ante Budimir to beat Alavés 1-0. It was the fourth loss in a row for Alavés with coach Julio Velázquez making his debut.

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Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, right, celebrates with Ousmane Dembele after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, right, celebrates with Ousmane Dembele after scoring his side's first goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Levante's Jose Luis Morales, right, celebrates after scoring the opening goal from the penalty spot during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP PhotoAlberto Saiz)

Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 on Thursday to make sure Real Madrid will have to wait at least another week to celebrate the Spanish league title.

Barcelona's away victory reduced its gap to Madrid to 15 points, and it can further cut it to 12 points on Sunday if it defeats Rayo Vallecano at home in a game it has in hand.

Barcelona and Madrid, which won 3-1 at Osasuna on Wednesday, will have five games left. Madrid, trying to clinch its second title in three seasons, doesn’t play this weekend.

Barcelona's plaers celebrate after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“Madrid was lucky that it took a while for us to join the fight,” Barcelona defender Dani Alves said.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored with a close-range header in the 11th minute to give Barcelona its first win after consecutive home losses against Cádiz in the league and Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League. The Catalan club had not lost two straight home games since 2003.

The victory against Sociedad left Barcelona tied on points with Sevilla, which defeated Levante earlier Thursday to stay in position to secure a Champions League place next season. Second place also is important as it guarantees a spot in the Spanish Super Cup.

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang celebrates after scoring the opening goal during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

“We suffered a lot but in the end we got three golden points and stayed in second place,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández said. “It was an important victory even though we didn’t play too well.”

Defending champion Atlético Madrid, which was held to a 0-0 home draw against relegation-threatened Granada on Wednesday, stayed two points behind Barcelona and Sevilla. Fifth-place Real Betis trailed Atlético by four points and was two ahead of Sociedad.

Sociedad has not beaten Barcelona in 12 straight league matches. The Basque Country club hadn't lost in seven consecutive league games at home, all of them with clean sheets.

Barcelona's Dani Alves, left, fights for the ball with Real Sociedad's Diego Rico during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Barcelona extended its unbeaten streak on the road to 13 league matches, having won five in a row.

Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo left injured early in the second half, and the team's other central defender, Gerard Piqué, appeared to get injured in the first half but stayed until being substituted in the 82nd while being loudly jeered by the Sociedad fans.

Piqué, who also heard some boos every time he touched the ball during the game, has been in the spotlight in recent days after stolen audio leaked to the media exposed a series of conversations between him and Spanish soccer federation president Luis Rubiales talking about behind-the-scenes negotiations on several issues.

Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong, left, vies for the ball with Real Sociedad's Igor Zubeldia during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

SEVILLA RECOVERS

Sevilla improved its chances of making it to the Champions League with a 3-2 win at second-to-last-place Levante.

Jesús “Tecatito” Corona scored two first-half goals and Jules Koundé added another after halftime.

Barcelona's Dani Alves reacts during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Levante captain José Luis Morales had to be comforted by teammates and opponents after the match because of a missed penalty kick that could have equalized the game at 2-2 in the second half. Koundé gave Sevilla a 3-1 lead about 10 minutes later before Roberto Soldado pulled the hosts closer again.

Levante stayed tied with last-place Alavés, six points from safety.

CÁDIZ FALLS AGAIN

Barcelona's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, left, tries to score next to Real Sociedad's goalkeeper Alex Remiro during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

Cádiz followed up its stunning 1-0 win against Barcelona at the Camp Nou Stadium with a 3-2 home loss against Athletic Bilbao.

The result left Cádiz just outside the relegation zone.

Eighth-place Athletic was up 3-0 by the 33rd. It played a man down from the 71st after Mikel Vesga was sent off.

Barcelona's head coach Xavi Hernandez gestures during a Spanish La Liga soccer match between Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona at the Reale Arena stadium in San Sebastian, Spain, Thursday, April 21, 2022. (AP PhotoAlvaro Barrientos)

RELIEF FOR RAYO

Rayo won 1-0 at Espanyol to end a 13-match winless streak in the league and move closer to salvation.

Sergi Guardiola scored in the 42nd to leave the southern Madrid club seven points from the relegation zone in 14th place. Espanyol, sitting in 12th-place, was two points ahead of Rayo.

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