Barcelona vs. Levante: Score, Grades and Reaction from La Liga Match

Barcelona trashed Levante, 5-0, at the Camp Nou on Sunday, continuing their incredible form and once again putting pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid by closing the gap at the top of the standings to just a single point.   

The Blaugrana weren't at their very best early but still held a two-goal lead going into half-time, and once they found their form in the second half, the floodgates opened.

As Sky Sports shared, star forward Lionel Messi was making his 300th La Liga appearance:

The hosts started with plenty of attacking intentions, with Messi slotting in as a false-nine, opening up acres of space out wide. Pedro tested goalkeeper Diego Marino early, before Messi showed his class for the first time with a fantastic dribble.

Taking on several defenders, he found some open grass to unleash a shot that just skipped over the bar. ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan was impressed with his footwork:

The pressure from the Catalans increased, and Ivan Rakitic became the next to miss the target high. Levante put 10 men behind the ball in a desperate attempt to limit the space, but it was no use.

A darting Messi lobbed a fantastic pass to Neymar in the 17th minute, and isolated in front of the goalkeeper, the Brazil international lobbed the ball into goal on his first touch.

Replays showed the winger completely fluffed his shot, leading to the bizarre finish. Sport's Samuel Marsden cracked a joke:

Barcelona slightly took their foot off the gas after going up, 1-0, allowing Levante to catch their breath and settle in. The visitors couldn't produce any real danger, however, and Messi's consistent movement around the box kept the defence on their toes.

Rakitic produced a stunning through-ball to find the Argentina international in space, but the four-time Ballon d'Or winner couldn't put enough of an angle on his finish. He found himself in a similar possession minutes later, and this time, he converted to double the Catalans' lead.

As WhoScored.com pointed out, Messi's production in 2015 has been simply incredible:

The Catalans should have gone up, 3-0, just before half-time when Messi failed to spot a wide-open Neymar in the centre of the box and elected to shoot from a difficult angle instead. The 2-0 lead was still more than comfortable going into the break, however.

The visitors were determined to be less defensive early in the second half, as the match opened up a bit more. Levante's push for a goal didn't last very long, though, and soon enough, the Catalans were once again playing the ball around comfortably. Pedro came up one boot-size short to put away the 3-0 score, before setting up Messi after a fantastic chip over the defence from Sergio Busquets.

Spanish football expert Sergi Dominguez was in awe:

The afternoon went from bad to worse for Levante, who surrendered a penalty as full-back Ivan Lopez brought Neymar down inside the box. Messi stepped up and completed his hat-trick, prompting The Sport Bible's Liam to send out this tweet:

Levante started to get frustrated and two of their players were booked in quick succession, a bad omen with the hosts firing on all cylinders. Neymar made way for Luis Suarez, who got his name on the scoresheet minutes later with a superb bicycle kick.

The spectacular effort was certainly the favourite strike of Goal's Ben Hayward:

After that goal, the tempo finally dropped, to the relief of the visitors. The Camp Nou was ecstatic with what they had seen and the hosts were just happy to finish the match and start getting ready for Malaga and Manchester City.

Both are excellent clubs, but looking at the Catalans' recent run of form, they should be shaking at the knees at the prospect of facing Barcelona right now. Luis Enrique's squad is a machine, scoring at will and dominating just about every facet of the game.

You have to almost feel bad for Levante, who sit in the relegation zone and knew full well they weren't going to shock an upset at the Camp Nou against this in-form squad. The match against fellow relegation candidates Granada couldn't come at a worse time.

Relevant Match Grades

Manu Fernandez/Associated Press

Neymar: B

It may not have been a vintage performance from the Brazilian, but once again, Neymar scored. Few players in world football are as hot right now as Barcelona's talisman, and paired with the likes of Messi and Suarez, the Catalans' attack simply can't be contained.

Lionel Messi: B+

Speaking of Messi, it almost seemed a foregone conclusion the Argentinian would score and assist in his 300th La Liga match. Like Neymar, Messi's form is impeccable, and with the UEFA Champions League right around the corner, the timing couldn't be any better.    

Simao: B

Levante can thank their star holding midfielder for the fact the Blaugrana didn't score double digits. The visitors' defence was routinely overrun, with Simao the only one capable of keeping up with the Catalans.

Post-Match Reaction

Barcelona manager Luis Enrique was obviously happy with the performance of his squad, highlighting the success of some rotational players, via Barcastuff:

"

Luis Enrique: "many rotations? Part of the plan. Happy with performance today. We could see we have a large squad. This win strengthens us."

— barcastuff (@barcastuff) February 15, 2015"

Levante's Lucas Alcaraz was harsh on his squad, even if Barcelona's current form makes them nearly unbeatable at home, per AS English:

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