Valladolid (Spain), Sep 28 (IANS) Real Valladolid showed quality and tenacity here, coming from behind to beat Levante 2-1 for their first victory of the 2018-2019 La Liga season.
Visiting goalkeeper Oier Olazabal on Thursday had to make a save in the 12th minute on a shot by Duje Cop and was tested again five minutes later by Toni, reports Efe.
Valladolid dominated possession and Levante's only threat in the first half came on a counter led by the speedy Jose Luis Morales, who forced host keeper Jordi Masip to make two stops in quick succession.
Olazabal was kept busy and had to come off his line to thwart Toni in the waning minutes of the first half before Cop saw a goal disallowed for an offside.
A defensive error allowed Levante to break the deadlock just two minutes into the second half with a goal by Sergio Postigo, who beat Masip on the rebound after the Valladolid keeper made the initial stop.
Undaunted, the hosts stuck to their tactics and got the equalizer in the 50th minute when Cop nudged Enes Unal's strike over the line.
The game took on a frenetic pace and Masip was hard-pressed to stop a shot by Morales seconds ahead of his team taking a 2-1 lead on Nacho's goal off a corner in the 56th minute.
In the meantime, Levante went down to 10 men with the expulsion of Nikola Vukcevic for a second yellow card in the 54th minute, and Valladolid successfully defended the narrow lead to nail down the victory.
The result lifted Valladolid to six points from six matches and they sit 13th in La Liga. Levante, with four points from six games, are 17th, one above the drop zone.
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