Keylor Navas ran the length of the pitch to invent a bicycle kick that failed to materialise. Levante were closing in on the goal defended by Zieler at the end of the game against Hannover 96 in December 2012. The Granotas goalkeeper’s run added spice and excited the emotions of the Granotas fans. Levante were not giving up. That duel closed the Europa League qualifiers. The triumph seemed to slip, but the self-esteem of the group led by Juan Ignacio Martínez did not diminish, despite the verdict on the scoreboard.
Angel started the revolt in the second half to restore the team’s confidence. The first forty-five minutes ended with two goals for the German team. However, in stoppage time, Iborra appeared to balance the scales and the match with a goal that tasted like victory. Levante went into the final day of the group stage with qualification for the round of 16 already assured after beating Helsingborg 1-3 in faraway Sweden.
Levante faced the clash against the Teutonic team with the possibility of topping the penthouse of the standings. Big words for a novice on his landing in Old Europe. The duel contained voltage. Levante had to conjugate with the triumph to move Hannover away from the leadership. Orriols went into full combustion to become a cauldron of emotions. It was in the second half of the match. The blaugranas broke free of the corsets that had been oppressing them to reset a game that seemed to have withered. That battle had two separate halves. Hannover held Levante at bay in the first chapter. The Blue and Reds rebelled in the second half.
Stindl and Ya Konan conquered Keylor’s area. In less than half an hour the match seemed to be over. Levante’s audacity materialised in the second forty-five minutes. In that sequence, the Blue and Whites were turning the tide of the match. The emergence of Ángel was decisive in believing in the comeback. The clock had not run down too much when the Canary Islander attacker scored with a decisive finish. The game changed. Barkero and Juanlu offered more consistency and magic from the moment they came on. The boots of Barkero began to varnish the Blue and Reds’ play. Despite the dizzying start, the equaliser was not forthcoming and the game was dying out. First place seemed a utopia, but this Levante team is capable of fighting against utopia. The paradigm of this trend was Iborra’s goal, which was celebrated with great rage as there was no time for more excitement.