LaLiga Matchday 12 review: Barcelona falter, Madrid clubs secure draws

LaLiga Matchday 12 was an interesting one, to say the least. Barcelona succumbed to a shock 3-1 loss against Levante. Barcelona's rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid could only manage draws in their Matchday 12 fixtures against Real Betis and Sevilla. These LaLiga results mean that Barcelona are top of the LaLiga table after Matchday 12. Ernesto Valverde's side, however, sit on top of the table only on goal difference. Here's our LaLiga Matchday 12 review. 

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LaLiga review: Barcelona falter

With Levante wearing the red and blue and Barcelona sporting a yellow kit, the Levante vs Barcelona game already had a distinct Blaugrana flavour to it. With a line-up that boasted of a front three of Antoine Griezmann, Luis Suarez and, of course, Lionel Messi, Barcelona were favourites to emerge winners at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia. A goal from Lionel Messi put Barcelona ahead in the 38th minute, and it seemed like Barcelona would secure a routine win against the minnows. However, Levante sprung up a surprise when they raced to a 3-1 lead in the space of seven minutes. Goals from Jose Campana, Borja Mayoral and Nemanja Radoja condemned Barcelona to their third loss in this season on LaLiga Matchday 12. 

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LaLiga review: Real Madrid fail to capitalise

Blowing hot and cold has been the theme for Real Madrid this season. With Barcelona falling to a 3-1 defeat, Zinedine Zidane's men had a glorious opportunity to overtake their rivals. With Casemiro, Toni Kroos and Luka Modric starting in midfield together after a long time, the Santiago Bernabeu seemed like the stage for Real Madrid to launch a serious assault for the LaLiga title this season. Los Blancos, however, flattered to deceive.

Against a team playing with five at the back, not to mention Marc Bartra playing as a defensive midfielder on the evening, Real Madrid looked averse to taking risks to secure a win. Zidane also seemed to take too long to make some changes in personnel; his first substitution coming on 65 minutes, with Rodrygo making way for Vinicius Junior. The 0-0 draw leaves Real Madrid in second on the LaLiga table; a result that none of the Bernabeu faithful will be too content with. 

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LaLiga Matchday 12 takeaways

Only five points separate the top 13 teams in the Spanish league after LaLiga Matchday 12. Barcelona, Real Madrid and Real Sociedad sit joint-top of the table. Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid also missed an opportunity to go top of the table, with Los Rojiblancos registering a draw against fifth-placed Sevilla. Meanwhile, Celta Vigo parted ways with their manager Fran Escriba, after Celta managed to pick up just eight points from their opening 12 games in LaLiga this season. 

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