Roger Brugué double lifts Levante to 11th with 3-1 win over 10-man Athletic

Levante beat Athletic Club 3-1 at the Ciutat de València on Wednesday night, with Roger Brugué scoring twice in two minutes and substitute Karl Etta Eyong adding the third in the 98th minute. The win, only Levante's second of the La Liga season and their first since 29 August, lifts Luís Castro's side to 11th on 10 points.

The matchday-6 fixture was the one called off on 16 September, when a downpour minutes before kick-off forced the referee to suspend it with both teams warmed up and thousands of fans already in the stands.

Two goals in two minutes

Athletic started better. In the 9th minute Levante goalkeeper Ryan pushed away a shot from the edge of the box by Álex Berenguer. Levante struck in the 20th minute: after a scramble the visitors could not clear, Brugué finished with his left foot. Two minutes later Iván Romero intercepted a back pass from Mikel Jauregizar, Unai Simón saved from Thiago Fernández, and Brugué beat Yuri to the rebound for 2-0.

Edin Terzić, the Athletic coach, sent on Peio Canales and Iñaki Williams at half-time. In the 66th minute Berenguer converted a penalty after Levante's Olasagasti brought down striker Maroan Sannadi, a decision referee Alejandro Quintero made after a long VAR review. Seven minutes later Aymeric Laporte was sent off for bringing down Dani Requena as he ran through on goal, and in the ninth minute of added time Etta Eyong, on since the 72nd minute, scored from another Simón rebound.

What the coaches said

"Both in attack and in defence we were very good. It was a game that we undoubtedly deserved," said Castro. On Etta Eyong, back from injury, he added: "He came on well, he was good not only for the goal, he was also involved in the sending-off." Of Brugué, one of his captains, he joked: "We know he has goals, and that's why they pay him so much money. I'm joking."

Terzić blamed the two quick goals on lost possession: "Those two losses of the ball in midfield created problems for us. They scored two quick goals and we went from being a team controlling the game to chasing the result." He also defended the timing of his late changes: "I don't think it's fair to say we made the changes in the 80th minute, because there was a very, very long review of the penalty."

Where it leaves them

Athletic stay 13th on 9 points, two clear of the relegation places, with a game in hand. They have not won in the league since beating Atlético de Madrid 3-0 on 5 September, with three draws and this defeat since. They host Getafe, also on 9 points, on Sunday. Levante, three points above the bottom three, visit fifth-placed Real Sociedad the same day.