Lamine Yamal equals Lionel Messi record in Barcelona’s 4-2 thriller against Levante

Valencia: Lamine Yamal scored twice to help Barcelona secure a thrilling 4-2 victory away at Levante on Sunday, extending the Catalan club's perfect start to the La Liga season.

Hansi Flick's side restored their three-point lead over Real Madrid at the top of the table following the capital club's victory against Rayo Vallecano on Saturday.

Xavi Espart opened the scoring for the defending champions in Valencia before Yamal doubled the advantage and subsequently converted a second-half penalty.

Despite maintaining a 100 per cent record across five matches, Barcelona's defensive vulnerabilities surfaced late in the contest as Ivan Romero and Roger Brugue scored to pull Levante back into the match.

Substitute Karim Adeyemi secured the three points for Barcelona in stoppage time with a brilliant solo effort, sprinting past the defence at speed to finish past Mathew Ryan.

Flick had cautioned his players pre-match to maintain intensity to prevent their strong momentum from faltering, and the visitors produced an immediate response at the Ciutat de Valencia stadium.

The visitors opened the scoring in the fifth minute with Levante having barely touched the ball, as Barcelona defender Espart found the net.

Barcelona easily breached the centre of Levante's team, with the 19-year-old midfielder, integrated into the first team by Flick and deployed at left-back, finishing from the edge of the penalty area with the aid of a deflection to claim his first senior goal for the club.

Levante responded with a sustained spell of pressure, leaving Barcelona fortunate to preserve their lead.

Petar Ratkov failed to direct his effort from a favourable position, whilst Barcelona goalkeeper Joan Garcia produced a fine save to deny Brugue.

Levante were quickly punished for their missed opportunities when Raphinha set up Yamal for Barcelona's second goal.

The Brazilian rounded goalkeeper Ryan before squaring for Yamal to finish into an unguarded net in the 19th minute.

High summer temperatures and a series of heavy challenges subsequently slowed the tempo of the contest.

Yamal added his second shortly after the restart, drawing a foul to win a penalty before taking it himself.

The Spain winger was brought down by Aissa Mandi and converted the resulting spot kick past Ryan to register his seventh goal in four appearances across all competitions.

Yamal is only the second Barcelona player to score three braces in the first five La Liga matches of a season, a feat previously accomplished by Messi during the 2012/13 campaign.

Levante missed a chance to reduce the deficit when Andreas Christensen made a goal-line clearance to deny Romero's scuffed shot.

However, the striker eventually scored after Espart surrendered possession with a misplaced pass towards Christensen, allowing Romero to capitalise and strike.

The home supporters cheered as Brugue exploited an error by Marc Bernal, forcing a save from Garcia before converting the rebound.

Any hopes of a Levante comeback were dashed when former Borussia Dortmund winger Adeyemi launched a dynamic run through the defence and executed a calm finish.

Barcelona host newly promoted Racing Santander on Wednesday, whilst Levante play host to Athletic Bilbao.

In earlier Sunday action, Celta Vigo were held to a 1-1 home draw by Malaga. Elsewhere, Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid travel to face Real Sociedad, whilst Getafe take on Deportivo La Coruna.

AFP