Levante Las Planas secured a narrow victory against Espanyol (women) in the second round of the Primera División Femenina, winning 1-0 at home on Saturday. The result lifted Levante to ninth place while Espanyol remained rooted at the bottom with zero points from two matches. By then, both sides had already tasted defeat in the opening week, setting up this encounter as an opportunity to arrest their slides.
Espanyol started brightly enough, dominating possession at 41 per cent to Levante's 59, though the visitors carried more danger forward. The turning point came early when C. Baudet picked up a yellow card in the sixteenth minute for a rash challenge. To be fair, Espanyol had the higher attack count at 115, but they could only manage one shot on target from 304 passes.
The second half brought a wave of changes as both coaches looked to shift momentum. C. Baudet was replaced at the break by N. Escot, and P. Browne followed shortly after picking up a booking in the fifty-sixth minute. Espanyol ground out the win attempt, but Levante weathered the storm with their goalkeeper making only one save from three shots on target.
And here's the thing about this match: it was decided in the dying moments rather than through sustained pressure. M. Llompart Pons broke the deadlock in the eighty-ninth minute, having already received a yellow card five minutes earlier for a tactical foul. The goal ended Espanyol's clean-sheet hopes and gave Levante all three points from a game where they were out-attacked but more clinical in front of goal.
Levante's efficiency was stark when you looked at the numbers. They registered three shots on target with a 50 per cent accuracy rate, compared to Espanyol's solitary attempt at 33 per cent. The visitors controlled the tempo better, completing 438 passes to Espanyol's 304, while also winning more corners with three to two.
The standings now tell a clearer story. Levante sit ninth with three points from two games, having shown they can compete away from home. Espanyol remain in the relegation zone with two losses and no points to show for their opening fortnight. The gap between them is six points, and that kind of deficit takes work to close.