Levante rebound with Sporting rout

Levante ended a run of three straight defeats in La Liga with an emphatic 4-0 win over Sporting Gijon. Jose Barkero got the hosts off to a flying start with the opener inside 20 minutes, while a Valdo strike and an Arouna Kone brace wrapped up the points after the break. Sporting came into the game on a five-game unbeaten run and the visitors were unlucky not to be in front when Nacho Cases' overhead kick came back off the bar on 17 minutes. Levante made the breakthrough two minutes later. Roberto Canella lost the ball to Kone, who showed good awareness to pick out Barkero for an easy finish. At the other end, Cases saw another effort fly wide before David Barral headed off target. Miguel De Las Cuevas missed Sporting's best chance of the half as a loose ball fell to the midfielder inside the area but he shot into the arms of Gustavo Munua. The run of play was reversed at the start of the second period, though, as the hosts put the game beyond Sporting with three quickfire goals. Valdo doubled the lead 60 seconds after the restart when he benefited from a ricochet off Alberto Lora to finish Juanlu's cross at the back post. Barral was then denied again, this time by a fantastic save from Munua, and from the resulting counter-attack Levante went further in front, Kone accelerating past Ivan Hernandez before finishing calmly when one-on-one with Juan Pablo. The Sporting keeper denied Levante a fourth as he saved bravely at Kone's feet, but the Ivorian did get his fifth goal of the season moments later as he slotted in the rebound after Pablo had tipped Asier Del Horno's free-kick on to the upright.