Levante's recovery continues with 2-1 win over Eibar

Spanish football club Levante beat visiting Eibar 2-1 to register their second consecutive win since the arrival of new coach Paco Lopez.

The win on Friday lifted Levante to 17th place in La Liga, seven points clear of relegation, reports Efe.

For ninth-place Eibar, it was a missed opportunity to gain ground in the scramble for the final European places.

Eibar were the stronger team to start and had a chance to take the lead just two minutes into the match, but Kike Garcia missed the mark after a giveaway by the hosts.

Levante's first attack, which didn't come until the 21st minute, ended in failure when Pazzini fired the ball straight to Eibar keeper Dmitrovic.

Just four minutes later, however, Morales delivered a great cross to Roger, who made it 1-0 for Levante.

Play opened up after the goal and the action shifted back and forth, though the clearest chance before the break went to Eibar thanks to a defensive error by Cabaco. But Levante netminder Oier filled the gap before Jordan could get his shot away.

While Eibar were aggressive to start the second half, it wasn't until after Unui and Charles entered the match in a double-change right before the hour mark that the Basque side began to dominate.

The surge resulted in a corner that led to Charles' equaliser in the 63rd minute. Yet barely a minute passed before Emmanuel Boateng exploited a blunder by Arbilla to put the ball past Dmitrovic.

Trailing 1-2, Eibar flew forward, creating some anxious moments for the fans at Ciutat de Valencia stadium, but Levante held on to claim all three points.

--IANS

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