Pedri, Anthony Gordon, Xavi Espart | Everything we learned from Levante 2-4 FC Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona continued their perfect start to the 2026-27 season with a 4-2 victory over Levante on Sunday afternoon. Goals from Xavi Espart, Lamine Yamal (x2) and Karim Adeyemi saw Hansi Flick’s side stretch their lead at the top of La Liga, and there are many takeaways for the German coach to mull over ahead of the midweek clash with Racing de Santander

Pedri still searching for his perfect role alongside Rodri

Last season, Pedri established himself as arguably the best midfielder in world football. Playing alongside Frenkie de Jong, Marc Bernal or Gavi, the 23-year-old excelled at control the middle of the park, but his role has changed following the summer arrival of Rodri.

Pedri was usually the one to build from deep, and while he still does that in his system, the role has predominated been taken on by Rodri. The former now tends to play more of a box-to-box role, and while he has found himself more involved in the scoring/assisting department, he’s less involved overall – and that was the case again in the Levante match.

It’s up to Flick, and Pedri himself, to figure out exactly how to maximise his strengths in this team, while also continuing to get the best out of Rodri.

Gordon yet to hit full speed at Barcelona

Anthony Gordon has made a good start to life at Barcelona, following his summer move from Newcastle United. Four assists in six matches across all competitions is an impressive return, but he is still waiting for his first goal in Blaugrana colours, which he’d have hoped to have arrived by now.

While Gordon has started well, it’s clear that he is still adapting to Flick’s system. There have been times when he’s not been on the same wavelength as some of his teammates, and while that is not a concern, it is something that he needs to improve upon – and he surely will with time.

Adeyemi is the perfect squad player

Barcelona signing Adeyemi for less than €30m could be one of the deals of the summer. The former Borussia Dortmund man has not been a regular starter since arriving, but he’s already made a telling impact – and that continued on Sunday as he notched his third goal of the season.

He’s averaging a goal every 68 minutes, which is an incredibly impress return. If he can continue to keep this form going for the entirety of the 2026-27 campaign, he will undoubtedly be one of the most important parts of Flick’s squad, also underlying how much better the depth is before the summer to now.

Espart as inverted full-back continues to be a masterstroke

La Masia has done it again with Xavi Espart, who has established himself as a key player for Flick in these early weeks of the season. The 19-year-old netted his first goal for Barcelona in the victory over Levante, and while he did gift the hosts a way back into the match late on, it was still another impressive showing from the teenager.

Going into the season, Joao Cancelo and Alejandro Balde were expected to be the leading left-back options, but Espart has made the position his own. If he keeps this form up, he will be undroppable, which is a good problem for Flick to have.

Why wasn’t a centre-back signed in the summer?

If there was one negative to take away from the victory over Levante, it was Barcelona’s defensive woes rearing their ugly head again. Gerard Martin, and then Andreas Christensen, both didn’t do particularly bad, but neither are on the same level as Pau Cubarsi, and that is a big issue for the Catalans.

There is always a feeling that Barcelona will give up chances due to their lack of strength in defence, and on this occasion, Levante punished them twice. Better teams would have scored more goals, and that is exactly why it was such a strange decision for no central defender to be signed in the summer, despite the money being there for one.

Barcelona could live to regret this decision in the later stages of the season, especially if they go far in the Champions League. However, they will have the winter transfer window to bring someone in, and surely, they must look to do so.