An 18-year-old's nightmare turned into his redemption, a two-goal lead evaporated, and a goal celebration ended with a red card and plastic bottles on the pitch. Levante and Sevilla shared six goals at the Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, and the 3-3 scoreline barely begins to tell the story.
Ifeanyi Ndukwe, the Austrian defender on loan from Liverpool, was making his full debut for Levante. He handed Sevilla their opener, then scrambled home the equaliser deep into stoppage time. The Spanish press cast him as the villain who became the hero. Sevilla were hammered for capitulating in the final moments, while Levante were lauded for refusing to surrender. Their point lifted them out of the relegation zone.
The tension had arrived hours earlier. Around midday, a brawl broke out near the stadium between roughly 50 masked Levante ultras and 40 to 50 Sevilla radical supporters, who wielded sticks and threw chairs and glass bottles. The street damage brought a reinforced National Police deployment around the venue.
Robert Ure punishes Ndukwe's error to put Sevilla ahead
The opener was a gift. In the 13th minute, Ndukwe's backpass went astray, and Robert Ure intercepted it and finished into an empty net. It was his first competitive goal for Sevilla.
Levante would end the night with 56% of the ball, but the first half belonged to Sevilla's sharpness rather than the hosts' territory. The visitors went in 1-0 up, and Levante had a debutant's mistake to recover from.
VAR rescues Félix Correia's goal before Iván Romero hits back
Sevilla appeared to have doubled their lead in the 54th minute. Ure flicked on Miguel Sierra's delivery and Félix Correia tapped in at the back post, only for the assistant's flag to rule it out for offside.
A VAR check in the 55th minute confirmed Correia was onside, and the goal stood. Like Ure, he had his first competitive goal for the club, and Sevilla had a two-goal cushion.
Levante's response took three minutes. Brugui slid a through ball into Iván Romero, who beat the goalkeeper first time. That makes three league goals in seven appearances for Romero this season, and he has now scored in three of Levante's last six league games.
From there, the hosts kept coming. They finished with 20 shots to Sevilla's 18, eight on target to five, and five corners to two. Yet the margin stayed at 2-1 into the 90th minute. The pressure was real, but the reward kept refusing to arrive.
Dela and Isaac trade blows as stoppage time boils over
Dela finally broke through in stoppage time. A blocked shot dropped loose outside the penalty area, and he smashed a volley into the net. It was his second league goal of the season in seven appearances.
The parity lasted minutes. Youssouf Fofana set up Isaac, who whipped a left-footed strike from distance past the goalkeeper to put Sevilla back in front. It was Isaac's second league goal of the campaign. Sevilla have now scored in each of their last eight league games, with 13 goals in that run.
Then came the moment that will be argued over. Isaac put his index finger to his lips to shush the home supporters. Referee Adrian Cordero Vega showed him a second yellow card, writing in his match report that the celebration had provoked the crowd. Sevilla finished with four yellow cards to Levante's two.
The stands reacted at once. In front of 19,840 fans, roughly 25 to 30 plastic bottles and cups were thrown onto the pitch. The referee activated the protocol and ordered announcements over the PA system.
Ifeanyi Ndukwe completes his redemption as Levante climb to 17th
Down to ten men but still ahead, Sevilla could not hold on. Deep into stoppage time, a chaotic scramble broke out in their box, and it was Ndukwe who bundled the ball over the line.
It was the 18-year-old's first goal for Levante, scored on his starting debut, and it wiped out the error that had shaped the first half. Few players get to rewrite their own night so completely.
The point takes Levante to 17th on six points and out of the relegation zone, though they have now gone four league games without a win. The two most recent meetings in our records had both gone their way, 3-0 in Sevilla in January and 2-0 at home in April. This one demanded far more nerve.
Sevilla stay fifth on 14 points, but the cost does not end there. Isaac's red card brings an automatic suspension for their next fixture, against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu. Luis García Plaza managed Levante from 2008 to 2011 and reportedly turned down an approach to return late in 2025. His trip back to his old club ended with a two-goal lead thrown away.
Match Information
- Competition: La Liga, Regular Season - 8
- Date & Time: Monday 12 October 2026, 21:00 CET
- Venue: Estadio Ciudad de Valencia, Valencia
- Referee: Adrian Cordero Vega
