Saturday February 25, 2012 Day 25 Finished Estadio Cornellá-El Prat

RCD Espanyol 1 - 2 Levante UD

  • Uche 75’
  • Valdo 24’
  • Rubén Suárez 90’

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  1. Late drama as Levante go fourth

    Late drama as Levante go fourth

    Levante scored a dramatic winner to beat Espanyol 2-1 at Estadi Cornella-El Prat and move into fourth place in La Liga. More

  • Live Commentary

    Time:90'
    • RCD Espanyol
    • Levante UD
    • 90+5' FULL TIME. Levante go fourth thanks to a late goal from Ruben. What drama.
    • 90+4' A shot from Verdu but it is blocked. That could be the final chance of the game for Espanyol, who will be gutted to lose this tie.
    • 90+2' Farinos is booked for chopping down Coutinho.
    • 90' GOAL! Espanyol 1-2 Levante! Suarez sees his free kick deflected home and the visitors may just have snatched this!
    • 88' Fonte spots the keeper off his line but sends his shot just over the bar.
    • 87' Ruben Suarez on for goalscorer Valdo for Espanyol.
    • 85' Lovely from Uche as he fires wide on the spin after a clever pass from Coutinho.
    • 83' Casilla gets a bit lucky as he rushes off his line to prevent Kone from getting to the ball but he makes weak contact with it. Fortunately no Levante players can grab possession and score.
    • 81' As things stand, Espanyol will be joint level with Malaga in fourth, with Levante a further point behind in what is becoming a fascinating battle for fourth place.
    • 79' Fonte catches Iborra and the Levante number 10 is furious. No punishment for the Portuguese forward though.
    • 77' Torres replaced by Francisco Farinos for Levante.
    • 75' GOAL! Espanyol 1-1 Levante! It's Uche with the much deserved equaliser. Verdu delivers the free kick and Uche gets above Ballesteros to head home.
    • 74' Ghezzal replaced by Oscar Serrano.
    • 72' Didac hammers a free kick into the body of Juanfran and he goes down in pain. The Levante man clambers to his feet as play continues.
    • 71' A change from Espanyol as former Arsenal man Rui Fonte comes on for Vasquez.
    • 70' Now Cabral pokes a shot wide of the near post as Levante threaten again. They have stepped things up a notch.
    • 69' Kone goes close! A wonderful touch and shot from the striker as he pulls down a high ball and sees his rifled volley tipped over the bar by Casilla.
    • 67' Another chance goes wasted for Espanyol as Javi Lopez drives one over the bar from about 30 yards.
    • 66' Now Didac is angered when Xavi Torres catches him with his studs.
    • 65' It is quite remarkable that Espanyol find themselves a goal down here. They have been by far the better side.
    • 63' Weiss has been a force of nature in this second half, putting even Coutinho in the shade.
    • 61' Verdu with the set piece but he fails to find an Espanyol head.
    • 60' The filth continues. This time Ballesteros, who is on a booking, knocks Weiss to the floor after the youngster nutmegs him and tries to get into the box.
    • 59' And now Xavi Torres is booked for a poor challenge on Verdu. I can feel a red card coming on...
    • 58' Barkero goes into the book, apparently for time wasting. He could have had a red in the first half for that elbow on Weiss though.
    • 57' Weiss threatens to wriggle free again. The on-loan Manchester City winger has been superb tonight.
    • 56' This game has been simmering for some time and I wouldn't be surprised to see someone sent off, probably in an incident involving Weiss.
    • 54' A change for Espanyol as Gomez is replaced by Kalu Uche.
    • 52' Ballesteros is also booked in the ensuing melee but the refereee succeeds in calming things down a touch.
    • 51' Trouble here as Weiss is shown a yellow card for catching Juanfran with his elbow by mistake. The Espanyol players are furious.
    • 49' Levante go up the other end and Ghezzal is close to making a decisive connection with a cross from the right from Kone. An excellent start to the half.
    • 48' And now Weiss goes close himself! He embarks on a fine run before dragging his shot just wide of the far post with his left foot.
    • 47' Nice work from Weiss as he makes space for himself down the right and fires in a low cross but Ballesteros does well to clear.
    • 47' No changes from either side at the break.
    • 46' KICK OFF!
    • 45+1' HALF TIME. Valdo's goal has Levante in front at the break.
    • 45' As things stand, it is Levante who will be moving ahead of Malaga and into fourth place.
    • 44' Barkero and Weiss collide once again - they are having quite the battle tonight.
    • 42' Alvaro Vasquez floats a shot wide of the far post for Espanyol as the home side threaten again. They don't deserve to be a goal down.
    • 40' Barkero with a corner from the Levante right but Espanyol head clear.
    • 39' Ghezzal penalised for handball and Xavi Torres risks a booking when kicking the ball away after the whistle has been blown.
    • 38' Coutinho fights hard to win the ball from Ballesteros but is penalised for a foul on the big Levante defender.
    • 36' Munua comes for a cross and drops the ball, but just about gets away with it.
    • 35' Weiss is kicked, yet again. Has he done something to offend Espanyol as a club that I am not aware of? Taken the mickey out of their mascot perhaps?
    • 34' Didac gets his head to a cross from the right and forces Gustavo Munua into tipping the ball over the bar. However, the left-back is rightly ruled offside.
    • 32' Weiss is forced across the face of goal as he tries to get a shot away and when he does see an opportunity to do so, he is off balance and swings and misses.
    • 31' Barkero does well to keep the ball in on the left wing but Casilla leaps to pluck the ball out of the air.
    • 30' Valdo holds off Didac on the left and fires in a dangerous cross that Casilla smothers at his near post as Ghezzal arrives to try and convert after Kone's weak effort.
    • 28' Gustavo Cabral catches a ball to the face when blocking a cross from the left.
    • 26' It would be pushing it to claim Levante deserved that goal. Espanyol have played the better football and have been on the receiving end of some rough stuff as well.
    • 25' GOAL! Espanyol 0-1 Levante! Valdo, the former Espanyol player, hammers his shot past Francisco Casilla after catching the home defence out. Barkero's pass ran past Kone and found Valdo, who was arriving to the right of the box and lashed his shot in off the inside of the post.
    • 24' Terrible from Gomez as he tries to find Didac on the left wing but puts the ball into the stands.
    • 23' With 21 minutes on the clock the Espanyol fans break into their customary minute's applause in recognition of former player Dani Jarque, who tragically died in 2009.
    • 22' Barkero was risking a red card with that. What on earth was he doing?
    • 21' Barkero blatantly smacks his elbow into Weiss as the young winger tries to run past him but gets away with it. Weiss has been targeted with some real rough treatment.
    • 19' Coutinho thinks he has been fouled by Sergio Ballesteros but that's just good defending from the Levante veteran.
    • 17' There has been a distinct lack of decent chances so far in this game, though some flashes of individual brilliance have kept it interesting.
    • 15' Brilliant again from Coutinho as he meets a pass from Didac with a first-time flick to elude his marker and plays a pass into Verdu.
    • 13' Weiss is fouled yet again and this time Juanfran does go into the book for his clumsy challenge.
    • 12' Coutinho and Verdu exchange passes before the former tries to pick out his team-mate with a rather ambitious backheel that runs out of play.
    • 11' Arouna Kone attempts to win the ball 20 yards from goal but is penalised for raising his boot.
    • 9' Wonderful stuff from Coutinho! The young Brazilian, on loan from Inter, sneaks his way through a succession of challenges before being halted inside the box. What a run.
    • 8' Lovely stuff from Levante as they construct a nice passing move but Jose Barkero is ruled offside when Ghezzal puts the ball in.
    • 6' Levante haven't won an away game in four months and it is Espanyol who have started the better tonight.
    • 4' And now Weiss is felled once again, this time by a poor challenge from Abdelkader Ghezzal. However the Levante man gets away without a card.
    • 3' Vladimir Weiss threatens to break away but is brought to ground by a heavy foul. This game already has some spice to it.
    • 2' A great start from Espanyol and Cristian Gomez fires in a ferocious effort that brushes the side netting!
    • 1' KICK OFF!
    • 21:00 TEAMS: Espanyol, Moren, Rodriguez, Didac, Lopez, Gomez, Forlin, Weiss, Coutinho, Vasquez, Verdu. Subs: Edgar, Galan, Amat, Uche, Baena, Alfonso, Fonte. /// Levante: Munua, Cabral, Ballesteros, Juanfran, Pedro Lopez, Iborra, Torres, Ghezzal, Valdo, Kone, Barkero. Subs: Navas, Navarro, Venta, Farinos, Serrano, Pallardo, Suarez.
    • 20:55 A win for either side puts them fourth ahead of Malaga, who have just beaten Real Zaragoza 5-1 at home. Espanyol will go level with Malaga with a draw, with Levante just one point behind.
    • 20:50 Espanyol have only won one of their past five games in all competitions - a home game against Mallorca in La Liga - while Levante have lost six of their past eight. Both clubs have seen their Champions League challenge falter as a result.
    • 20:45 Hello and welcome to our live coverage from the Estadi Cornella-El Prat as Espanyol look to move up to fourth in the Liga table. La Liga table

  • Summary

    • 90' GOAL! Espanyol 1-2 Levante! Suarez sees his free kick deflected home and the visitors may just have snatched this!
    • 75' GOAL! Espanyol 1-1 Levante! It's Uche with the much deserved equaliser. Verdu delivers the free kick and Uche gets above Ballesteros to head home.
    • 69' Kone goes close! A wonderful touch and shot from the striker as he pulls down a high ball and sees his rifled volley tipped over the bar by Casilla.
    • 48' And now Weiss goes close himself! He embarks on a fine run before dragging his shot just wide of the far post with his left foot.
    • 25' GOAL! Espanyol 0-1 Levante! Valdo, the former Espanyol player, hammers his shot past Francisco Casilla after catching the home defence out. Barkero's pass ran past Kone and found Valdo, who was arriving to the right of the box and lashed his shot in off the inside of the post.
    • 9' Wonderful stuff from Coutinho! The young Brazilian, on loan from Inter, sneaks his way through a succession of challenges before being halted inside the box. What a run.
    • 2' A great start from Espanyol and Cristian Gomez fires in a ferocious effort that brushes the side netting!
    • 21:00 TEAMS: Espanyol, Moren, Rodriguez, Didac, Lopez, Gomez, Forlin, Weiss, Coutinho, Vasquez, Verdu. Subs: Edgar, Galan, Amat, Uche, Baena, Alfonso, Fonte. /// Levante: Munua, Cabral, Ballesteros, Juanfran, Pedro Lopez, Iborra, Torres, Ghezzal, Valdo, Kone, Barkero. Subs: Navas, Navarro, Venta, Farinos, Serrano, Pallardo, Suarez.

Team Line-up & Ratings

  • RCD Espanyol

    Manager: Mauricio Pochettino

  • Levante UD

    Manager: Juan Ignacio Martínez

  • Line-up

    Live Team Line-Up

  • Rate Players

    Rate Players

    Please to rate the players.

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    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      5.8 -
      Defenders
      2.9 -
      4.8 -
      4.3 -
      Yellow Card 4 -
      Midfielders
      6.3 -
      Substitution Out54′ 5 -
      Substitution Out90′ 7.7 -
      5.7 -
      Yellow Card 6.4 -
      Strikers
      Substitution Out70′ 5.5 -
      Subs
      Substitution In54′ Goal - -
      Substitution In70′ 3 -
      Substitution In90′ 5 -
    • Player Y! Users Expert My Rating
      Goalkeeper
      6.3 -
      Defenders
      3.6 -
      Yellow Card 6.1 -
      3.1 -
      Yellow Card 2.6 -
      Midfielders
      Yellow Card Substitution Out77′ 6.3 -
      4.4 -
      Goal Substitution Out85′ 7 -
      Yellow Card 6.1 -
      Substitution Out73′ 8.8 -
      Strikers
      5.5 -
      Subs
      Substitution In73′ 5 -
      Substitution In77′ Yellow Card 6 -
      Substitution In85′ Goal 5.5 -

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  1. 2-1 levante kone 21 82 albin 33

    From jords532, on Sun 26 Feb 5:00
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