Barcelona needed a late strike from Cesc Fabregas to pick up all three points against Levante in La Liga on Saturday.
The home side passed up a glorious chance to take the lead in the early stages when David Villa missed from the penalty spot after Andres Iniesta had been brought down in the box.
Barcelona continued to force the issue in the second period, but they had to wait until the final five minutes before Fabregas secured the three points.
Here, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two Spanish rivals.
Match statistics:
Barcelona:
Shots: 13
On target: 9
Possession: 80%
Corners: 11
Fouls: 6
Levante:
Shots: 3
On target: 0
Possession: 20%
Corners: 3
Fouls: 12
Was the result fair?
On the balance of play it would be difficult to argue that Barcelona did not deserve to win this match. It was just about as underwhelming as you could possibly imagine, but Levante did not offer anywhere near enough in attack to deserve to take something from their trip to Camp Nou.
Barcelona's performance
In truth, Barcelona did not get out of first gear this evening let alone second. They had the look of a side that had one eye on the Champions League clash with Bayern Munich next week. It is not a match that will live too long in the memory, but the win secured them another three points as they move closer to the league title.
Levante's performance
Despite Barcelona being well under-par, one never felt as if Levante would be able to win the match. It was almost as if they lacked belief in the final third of the pitch. One cannot fault their work-rate and desire, but they did not deserve to share the points this evening.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Eric Abidal: This accolade was only ever going to be awarded to the Frenchman this evening. On his return to the team, the experienced defender was cool, calm and collected. It was as if he had never been away.
Biggest gaffe of the match
Cristian Tello has been in fine form in recent weeks, but the Spaniard had a really poor evening as he continued to lose possession in the final third. However, a number of his teammates were not too far behind in terms of their overall display.
Referee performance
Alberto Undiano had a bit of a horror show in the first period when he awarded a penalty to Barcelona, even though Iniesta had hardly been touched by Simao Junior. The Spaniard also made a number of questionable decisions in the second period, but overall neither manager would have had too many complaints.
What next?
Barcelona: The Catalan outfit travel to Bayern Munich in the Champions League semi-finals on Tuesday.
Levante: Levante will attempt to return to winning ways when they welcome Celta Vigo next weekend.
Matt Law
