Undefeated Barcelona season in La Liga thwarted by Levante

Barcelona went 36 games without a loss, but Levante prevented the Catalans from completing an undefeated season with a 5-4 upset in the penultimate match.

After Barcelona held on for a 2-2 draw against Real Madrid in the spring Clásico, it appeared that little could stand in the way of the blaugrana completing an undefeated La Liga campaign. Barcelona needed only to win against Levante and Real Sociedad to complete an entire season with points from every match.

That dream died on Sunday in the penultimate match of the season. With Lionel Messi resting on the sideline against relegation-safe Levante, Barcelona seemed disjointed against what seemed to be an inferior opponent.

Emmanuel Boateng, wearing his trademark protective mask, was the hero for Levante in the match. The Ghanaian striker scored his first goal in the ninth minute to put Levante up by a goal. Boateng then beat Marc-André ter Stegen in the 30th minute to make it 2-0 Levante.

Philippe Coutinho scored in the 39th minute to pull back a goal for Barcelona. The two sides went into their respective locker rooms with the score 2-1 at the half. Enis Bardhi scored quickly after the resumption of play to restore a two-goal lead in the 46th minute.

Boateng completed his hat trick in the 49th minute, beating Ter Stegen again for his third goal. In the process, Boateng became the first player to score a hat trick against Barcelona since Diego Forlan in 2005. Bardhi scored a second goal in the 56th minute, and Levante were up 5-1.

Then Barcelona began to chip away at the lead

Coutinho completed his own hat trick with two second-half goals, scoring in the 59th minute and 64th minute to pull Barça within two goals of their hosts in Valencia. Then José Campaña earned a yellow card with a tough challenge in the box, earning Barcelona a penalty. Luis Suárez converted the opportunity, and Barcelona narrowed the deficit back to a single goal.

Though the runaway La Liga champions enjoyed the bulk of possession and took 18 attempts on goal, they were unable to find an elusive equalizer. Levante goalkeeper Oier Olazábal held on enough to secure the upset victory.

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Barcelona heads into its final matchday against Real Sociedad with the league title already locked up. But Levante proved a cruel host, taking advantage of a Messi-free opportunity to secure the biggest surprise of the La Liga season. In the process, Barcelona’s chance at history fell short on Sunday in Valencia.