La Liga round-up: Late surge sees Barcelona edge Levante 3-2; Atletico Madrid drop more points

Barcelona secured a thrilling 3-2 victory at Levante in the Spanish league on Saturday, overcoming a two-goal deficit. The defending champions mounted their comeback through goals from Pedri González and Ferran Torres in the second half after newly promoted Levante had established a surprising lead at halftime.The winning goal came late in the match when Lamine Yamal's curling cross into the six-yard box resulted in an own goal by Levante's Unai Elgezabal.Levante had taken an early lead in the 15th minute through Iván Romero, capitalising on a counterattack following a ball lost by Yamal. They extended their advantage when José Luis Morales converted a penalty in first-half injury time, awarded after VAR identified a handball by Alejandro Balde.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!Pedri initiated Barcelona's recovery in the 49th minute, receiving a pass from Yamal outside the area before scoring with a powerful long-range shot into the corner of the net.Ferran, who had previously hit the woodwork in the first half, equalised in the 52nd minute by holding off his defender and volleying in Raphinha's corner kick. Barcelona's persistence paid off when Yamal's contribution led to the decisive goal just after the 90-minute mark."The first goal we scored helped us a lot to get our confidence in the box, but until the end it was not easy for us to get the three points," said Barcelona coach Hansi Flick.The victory followed Barcelona's 3-0 win against nine-man Mallorca in their season opener.Marcus Rashford made his first league start for Barcelona since his loan move from Manchester United, playing as a left-side forward. He was substituted at halftime by Dani Olmo, after a first half dominated by Pedri's midfield passing and Yamal's right-wing attacks."I think Marcus had some situations in the first half where he showed how good he is and how he can help us, and that is how we have to continue," Flick said.Robert Lewandowski made his season debut as a late substitute after recovering from a muscle injury.In other league action, Atletico Madrid struggled for the second consecutive match, drawing 1-1 with promoted Elche at home.Despite strengthening their squad during the summer transfer window, Diego Simeone's team has collected just one point from their opening matches.Alexander Sorloth gave Atletico an early lead in the eighth minute, converting David Hancko's pass with a well-executed looping strike.Elche responded quickly, with Rafa Mir equalising in the 15th minute following an assist from German Valera. "We are working hard to get the most out of our players," Simeone said. "With patience and work, the results will come. We can't change course because we had two games that we deserved, at least, not to lose."Elche, coming from southeastern Spain, had previously drawn 1-1 with Real Betis in their opening match.The day's action concluded with Mallorca and Celta Vigo sharing points in a 1-1 draw.