Levante snatches late 1-1 draw against Deportivo at Riazor

Deportivo de A Coruña had the win within reach at Riazor, but Levante stole a point late on and the final score read 1-1. It's a bittersweet draw for the home side, who dominated long stretches of the match without being able to hold onto the lead.

The first half offered few clear-cut chances, with opportunities split between both sides and constant fouls breaking up the rhythm. Luismi Cruz tried his luck early from outside the box, Mario Soriano tested the visiting goalkeeper with an angled shot, and late in the half Bil Nsongo rattled the crossbar on one of Deportivo's clearest chances before the break. Levante answered with a shot from Enzo Bardeli that was met with a solid save from the home goalkeeper. The first half ended scoreless.

The goal that seemed decisive, and Levante's equalizer

The second half shifted with the substitutions. Just after Adrià Alti and Adama Traoré came on, Deportivo found the breakthrough: in the 62nd minute, following a rebound off a shot from Yeremay Hernández, Bil Nsongo finished with his right foot from the center of the box, low and inside the post, to make it 1-0.

Deportivo had further chances to extend the lead afterward, with Adama Traoré and Dani Requena (the latter on the visitors' side) testing their luck without success. But Levante, who had brought on Petar Ratkov and Jon Ander Olasagasti, grew into the match. The equalizer came in the 81st minute: Dani Requena finished with his left foot from the left side of the box, low and inside the post, off an assist from Petar Ratkov, to make it a final 1-1.

In stoppage time, which ran to seven minutes, Deportivo searched for a winner. Jonathan Asp Jensen crashed a shot off the crossbar and Diego Villares had two more attempts, but the ball wouldn't go in.

The numbers from the match

Deportivo generated more volume in total shots, while Levante had a bit more possession and corners in their favor. Here are the key figures:

The xG estimated after the fact based on the match's shots also backs up that home dominance: 1.53 for Deportivo compared to 0.62 for Levante. A gap that suggests the Galician side deserved a bit more than a draw, even though the scoreline ended up even.

The preview published ahead of the match gave a 38% chance of a home win, 29% for a draw, and 33% for an away win, with expected goals of 1.43 for Deportivo and 1.32 for Levante (2.75 total). The final result, a 1-1 draw, ended up matching the second most likely of the three scenarios, though the flow of play favored Deportivo more than those numbers suggested.

What the result means in the standings

With this result, Deportivo de A Coruña reaches 11 points so far in the competition, with a record of 2 wins, 5 draws and 2 losses in 9 matches played. Levante, for their part, have 7 points with 1 win, 4 draws and 3 losses in 8 matches. The gap between the two sides in the table stands at 4 points. Neither team could claim all three points, and the shared spoils leave both with the feeling that the match could have gone either way until the final minute.