MADRID (AP) — Barcelona took advantage of Real Madrid's stumble and regained the Spanish league lead with a comfortable 3-0 win over relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday.
Marc Bernal, Frenkie de Jong and Fermín López scored a goal each as Barcelona ended a two-game losing streak to get back in front of rival Madrid, which lost 2-1 at Osasuna on Saturday.
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Barcelona's Lamine Yamal runs during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Raphinha hugs Fermin Lopez after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong scores during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, and Marc Bernal celebrate after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona moved one point ahead of Madrid, which had won eight in a row in the league before losing to Osasuna.
“We know it isn’t easy to start winning again after two defeats, but the team gave a very good response” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said.
Barcelona was coming off a 2-1 loss to Girona in the league and a 4-0 loss to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the Copa del Rey semifinals.
“It was important to win and earn three points again,” Barcelona defender João Cancelo said. “Soccer gives you these opportunities to rebound and that's what we did today, playing well again after two bad games.”
Barcelona had earned a clean sheet only once in its previous six games in all competitions.
Bernal scored from close range four minutes into the match at the Camp Nou Stadium. The 18-year-old Bernal had scored his first goal with the first team two rounds ago in a win over Mallorca.
“They had an early chance but my goal helped us settle and gain some confidence,” Bernal said.
De Jong added to the lead from inside the area in the 32nd and López sealed the victory with a beautiful long-range shot in the 81st, with the ball ricocheting off the post before going into the net.
Levante's Australian goalkeeper Mathew Ryan kept Barcelona from adding the fourth with a pair of outstanding saves in a row in the final minutes, first off a header by Raphinha and then off a point-blank strike from López on the rebound.
It was the fourth straight defeat for Levante, which is in 19th place. It is one point ahead of last-place Oviedo, which has a game in hand.
Levante has only one victory in its last eight matches.
Pedri entered the match in the 66th to make his return to action nearly a month after an injury layoff.
Lamine Yamal celebrated his 100th win with Barcelona, becoming the youngest player to reach that mark in official matches for the club.
The 18-year-old Yamal's 139 games include 16 draws and 23 defeats.
Flick downplayed Yamal's apparent disappointment at being replaced in the final minutes.
Third-place Villarreal, Barcelona’s next league opponent, restored a three-point gap to fourth-place Atletico Madrid by coming from behind to beat Valencia 2-1 at home. Atletico beat seventh-place Espanyol 4-2 at home on Saturday.
Sixth-place Celta Vigo defeated relegation-threatened Mallorca 2-0 at home with veteran forward Iago Aspas scoring in the 85th and 90th minutes. Celta had been winless in four straight league matches. Mallorca has lost six of its last eight games.
Sevilla won 1-0 at 10-man Getafe for its second win in its last 10 matches in all competitions.
Djibril Sow scored a 64th-minute winner for the visitors. Getafe played a man down from the 26th after a straight red card for Djene Dakonam.
The result left Sevilla in 11th place, immediately above Getafe.
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal runs during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Fermin Lopez celebrates after scoring during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Raphinha hugs Fermin Lopez after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Frenkie de Jong scores during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
Barcelona's Lamine Yamal, left, and Marc Bernal celebrate after a goal during a La Liga soccer match between Barcelona and Levante in Barcelona, Spain, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2026. (AP Photo/Joan Monfort)
NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.
The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.
On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."
Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.
“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”
A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.
“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.
The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”
“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.
The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”
Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.
The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”
“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”
The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”
Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.
Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.
Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.
The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”
“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”
The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.
“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)
FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)
