Ifeanyi Ndukwe turned from villain to hero by scoring a 99th-minute equaliser to seal a dramatic 3-3 draw for Levante against Sevilla on Monday at the Ciutat de Valencia. The defender, who had gifted the opening goal, capped a wild comeback that featured three goals in stoppage time.
The match started disastrously for the home side. After 13 minutes, a short back-pass from Ndukwe to goalkeeper Mathew Ryan was intercepted by Robbie Ure, who slotted past the stranded Australian. A subdued Levante fell further behind early in the second half when Félix Correia made it 0-2 in the 54th minute following a headed assist from Ure. The response was immediate. Just two minutes later, Iván Romero pulled one back with a powerful shot that took a deflection off Kike Salas and wrong-footed Odisseas Vlachodimos.
Stoppage-time madness
With the score at 1-2, the game entered a balanced phase until it exploded at the death. In the 92nd minute, Adrián de la Fuente 'Dela' unleashed a spectacular volley from the edge of the box to level the match. The joy was short-lived. Three minutes later, substitute Isaac Romero put Sevilla back in front with another fierce drive from distance. The striker's celebration, directed at the home fans, earned him a second yellow card and a sending-off, sparking a melee between players that halted play.
It seemed to be the winner, but the Ciutat de Valencia had one final twist. With the clock nearing one hundred minutes, Levante launched a set-piece into the box. Ndukwe arrived at the back post to bundle the ball home, sparking pandemonium and fully atoning for his early mistake. The point keeps Luís Castro's team out of the relegation places, with a game in hand.
Home strength a cornerstone
This result reinforces Levante's solidity at home under the Portuguese manager. In three matches at the Ciutat this season, the team has recorded a emphatic win against Betis (5-0), pushed Barcelona hard in a 4-2 defeat, and now this last-gasp draw. Since Castro's arrival in January, the granotes have taken points from twelve of their fifteen home fixtures, a key statistic in their battle for survival. The next home test is in two weeks, a factor the team hopes to leverage to continue climbing the table. The full season schedule is on our fixtures page.
Manager Luís Castro made five substitutions during the match in search of a reaction, introducing players like Uroš Ratkov and Pablo Fernández. The team showed character to fight back despite trailing twice and being two goals down at one point. The match also saw Sevilla's Miguel Sierra leave injured in the 67th minute with a shoulder problem. With this point, Levante head into the international break in high spirits, aware that their strength in Orriols will be a pillar for the challenges ahead. The full squad for those challenges can be reviewed on the squad page.
Manager Luís Castro highlighted his team's character after the 3-3 draw. "The most important thing was the reaction and the faith until the end," the Portuguese coach said. The granota club, sitting 17th with 6 points, is now on a run of two consecutive draws.
