Sports

Barcelona vs Levante: Barca 3pts away from Madrid as Messi assists Fati twice

Published

5 years ago

February 3, 2020

Lionel Messi and Ansu Fati led the way for Barcelona as Quique Setien’s men did just enough to claim a 2-1 win over Levante at Camp Nou on Sunday, moving them back to within three points of leaders Real Madrid.

After a remarkable breakthrough at the start of the season, Fati had recently come in for criticism amid some underwhelming displays, but he showed just how effective he can be as Messi carved open the Levante defence.Fati took his top-flight tally to four with a pair of strikes separated by just 102 seconds in the first half, profiting from the brilliance of Messi on both occasions to become the youngest player to score a LaLiga brace this century.

Levante offered a lot more from an attacking perspective after the break and deservedly pulled one back through Barca academy product Ruben Rochina in stoppage time, but Fati’s efforts had put the game beyond the visitors, despite a hat-trick ultimately eluding the 17-year-old.