Spanish La Liga: Barcelona survive 3 penalties, move 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 Sevilla on Saturday.
Barcelona is 12 points behind leader Real Madrid with a game in hand. Madrid beat Getafe 2-0 on Saturday.
“It will be hard to contend for the title because Madrid isn’t making many makes,” Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said. “We both have difficult matches ahead, but if Madrid ends up losing some points maybe we can hope of achieving something bigger.”
Barcelona’s Ferran Torres, right, jumps for the ball with Levante’s Jorge Miramon, center, during a Spanish La Liga match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Barcelona’s rally began after Xavi put Pedri Gonzalez 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.
Jose Luis Morales put Levante ahead converting a penalty kick in the 52nd after a foul Dani Alves. The second penalty for the hosts came four minutes later after a handball Barcelona defender Eric Garcia, with Roger Marti missing from the spot.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang equalized for Barcelona with a header off a cross Ousmane Dembele 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 Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet, with Gonzalo Melero converting his shot from the spot before De Jong got the late winner after a well-placed cross Jordi Alba.
Barcelona’s Eric Garcia, right, vies for the ball with Levante’s Roger Marti during a Spanish La Liga match between Levante and Barcelona at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium in Valencia, Spain, Sunday, April 10, 2022. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)
Barcelona, which had not previously conceded a penalty in the league this season, hasn’t lost since playing Athletic Bilbao in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey in January.
Levante stayed tied on points with last-place Alaves. 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 Atletico Madrid with seven rounds to go.
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 asss from veteran David Silva.
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.
Earlier, 10th-place Osasuna scored in stoppage time with a goal from Ante Budimir to beat Alaves 1-0. It was the fourth loss in a row for Alaves with coach Julio Velazquez making his debut.