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BARCELONA - Goals from Memphis Depay, Luuk de Jong and the returning Ansu Fati helped Barcelona claim a much-needed 3-0 home victory over Levante in LaLiga on Sunday.
The victory, Barça's first in their last four games in all competitions, moved the Catalans up to fifth in the table with 12 points from six games, five behind league leaders Real Madrid, who have played one more.
The 18-year-old Fati, who came on as an 81st-minute substitute before scoring Barça's third goal, was making his first appearance since suffering a serious knee injury last November.
OMG ANSU FATI SCORES! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/pSFDDe8IR5
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 26, 2021
"I couldn't have imagined a comeback like this," Fati said. "I'm so thankful to the doctors and physios who have been with me throughout all of this, and to the fans who have been unbelievable as well."
Ansu Fati celebrated his goal with the doctor who helped him in his recovery ❤️ pic.twitter.com/bYM2o49i0E
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 26, 2021
Having been held to frustrating draws by lowly opposition in their last two league games, Barça were quick out of the blocks and went ahead after six minutes as Depay converted a penalty. They doubled their advantage just before the quarter-hour as De Jong latched on to a Sergiño Dest through ball before finishing past Aitor Fernández in the visitors' goal.
Luuk de Jong first Barcelona goal! pic.twitter.com/zd7qJFSzzW
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 26, 2021
Levante rarely looked like troubling Ronald Koeman's side, who are low on confidence, and they were indebted to Fernández, who made a couple of smart stops to keep the scoreline respectable as a dominant Barça pushed on in search a third. It finally came in the 91st minute as Fati capped his comeback appearance with a wonderful strike from distance.
(Reporting by Joseph Walker; Editing by Toby Davis)
