Barcelona's flawless start to the La Liga season continued on Sunday as they edged past Levante 4-2 in a thrilling encounter in Valencia, while RB Leipzig delivered a statement response to their midweek Champions League setback by demolishing bottom club Hamburg 5-0 in the Bundesliga.
At the Ciutat de Valencia, Barcelona raced into a two-goal lead inside the opening 19 minutes thanks to quick, incisive attacking play. Xavi Espart opened the scoring before teenage sensation Lamine Yamal doubled the advantage. Levante responded well before the break, outshooting the visitors six to three in the first half without finding a way past the Barcelona defense.
The match swung further in Barcelona's favor almost immediately after the restart, when a penalty was awarded just 42 seconds into the second period. Yamal, who won the spot-kick himself, stepped up to convert it and extend his side's lead. The goal marked yet another milestone for the 19-year-old, who has now scored twice in three consecutive La Liga appearances.
Levante refused to fold, however. A costly error from Espart gifted possession to forward Iván Romero, who calmly rounded goalkeeper Joan García and slotted home with 12 minutes remaining to cut the deficit. The hosts continued to push, and with just two minutes left on the clock, Roger Brugue weaved through several Barcelona defenders to net a second, setting up a tense finish.
Any hopes of a Levante comeback were extinguished deep into stoppage time, as substitute Karim Adeyemi produced a dazzling solo run and composed finish in the 93rd minute to restore Barcelona's two-goal cushion and seal the 4-2 win. The result keeps Barcelona alone at the summit of La Liga with five wins from as many matches, three points clear of rivals Real Madrid.
Elsewhere in Europe, RB Leipzig put their Champions League disappointment at Como firmly behind them with a dominant 5-0 home victory over struggling Hamburg. Norwegian winger Antonio Nusa was the standout performer, scoring once and providing two assists, including the pass that set up Christopher Nkunku for his first goal since rejoining the club in August. Tidiam Gomis, Willi Orban and Romulo also found the net as Leipzig cruised to victory, climbing to fourth in the Bundesliga table.
Reflecting on the win, Nusa emphasized the importance of moving past recent setbacks. "It's easy to look into the past too much. You lost two games. It's difficult, but you have to look forward," he said. "Today we had to perform and we did, so I think we had a good balance of not thinking too much of the past, but trying to attack today and I think we did it."
For Hamburg, the defeat was their third heavy loss in as many league matches this season, leaving the six-time German champions rooted at the bottom of the Bundesliga standings.
Elsewhere on Sunday, attention turns to Spain as Getafe host Deportivo A Coruña before Atlético Madrid travel to face Real Sociedad. In Germany, unbeaten Bayern Munich head to promoted Elversberg, who have impressively won their opening two fixtures. In Serie A, Napoli welcome Bologna while Juventus play at Sassuolo, and in France, a struggling Paris Saint-Germain side with just two points from three games will look to kickstart their Ligue 1 campaign away at Brest.
Based on reporting from The Guardian.