Levante beat Leganes 3-0 to extend winning streak

Levante defeated a somewhat ragged Leganes side 3-0 here to extend their winning streak to four matches and climb to 16th place in the La Liga football championship.

Jose Luis Morales, Coke and Enis Bardhi all scored in the second half on Monday for Levante, who now have 43 points from 36 games.

Leganes are in the 17th spot with 40 points, having already secured their position in the Spanish top-flight next league campaign.

The opening whistle signalled not only the start of the match but the onset of a deluge that left the players soaked and sent the fans in the uncovered seats running to the tunnels for cover, reports Efe.

Amid the awful conditions, it took 20 minutes for the first opportunity to materialise, an effort by Leganes' Nordin Amrabat that forced a good save from keeper Oier Olazabal, who then watched Claudio Beauvue head the ball just outside the post on the ensuing corner.

The hosts got another chance before the break, but Nabil El Zhar missed the target after taking a cross from Diego Rico.

The closest Levante came to threatening in the first half was a shot by Jason that deflected off Leganes defender Dimitris Siovas and sailed over the cross-bar.

Olazabal was tested once again after the re-start on a strike by El Zhar, but from the 54th minute it was all Levante, starting with a goal by Jose Luis Morales off a takeaway in mid-field by Bardhi with Jason as intermediary.

Minutes later, Leganes' Joseba Zaldua was sent off on a straight red card for bringing down Morales in the box.

Bardhi stepped to the penalty spot and converted to make it 2-0 for the visitors.

Coke struck home in the 67th minute to complete the scoring for Levante.

--IANS

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