Next time, Balde will cut off his hand: the hot notes from Levante-Barça

BarcelonaBarça sweated profusely to overturn a 2-0 deficit at Levante. A ridiculous penalty further complicated things for Hansi Flick's team, who earned their second La Liga win thanks to a strong second half. Here are some quick notes.

The first comeback. Barça is fortunate to have more than just the brilliant Lamine Yamal. The player from Rocafonda wasn't the main architect of the Barça comeback after receiving two blows from Levante in the first half. It wasn't the usual prodigy who was tasked with invoking the comeback narrative that was so successful last season. It's only fair to highlight the pivotal role of Pedri, the all-rounder, in rescuing the team from an unexpected 2-0 deficit. The Canary Islander's stunning goal was the prelude to what was to come, with Ferran's equalizer and Lamine Yamal's ambush, allowing the Frogs, exhausted in the final stretch, to finally surrender.

Message from Flick. We won't say who in case anyone gets scared, but we will say who: Marc Casadó. The German already mentioned this in the build-up and was consistent when choosing the lineup in Orriols. He doesn't want to lose the Valladolid native (now that he's the subject of a trial balloon about a possible exit) and put him in the mix in place of De Jong, who had a short training session this week because he became a father for the second time. Gavi, Fermín, and Olmo were left on the bench in place of Casadó, a symbol of this emerging generation of Barça players. He may not be as talented as some of his contemporaries, but he conveys the hard-edged Barcelona spirit that can never be too much in a locker room.

Absurd and unfair hands. Humans capable of playing top-level soccer have two legs and two arms. The lower limbs can be used in almost all situations, while the upper limbs are subject to various limitations. Only goalkeepers have full freedom to use them inside the penalty area. However, misnamed outfield players are punished if they use them to deliberately gain advantage. It should be that simple, but referees insist on wrapping up the problem in the case of unintentional impacts inside the penalty area, where defenders are penalized even if they try hard to hide their hands. What should they do? Cut them off? Since this isn't an option, penalties like Balde's shouldn't be called. Period.

Homemade twice over. For the second consecutive away game, Barça's players had to wear last season's third kit to take to the pitch. All the paraphernalia with this season's new kits, with the added incentive of Lamine Yamal's new number 10, was thwarted for another week by Nike, which will sell slightly less due to this circumstance. Poor Americans. There are surely reasonable arguments surrounding this textile decision. But what's inconsistent is confusing the referees' shirt with that of one of the contenders. Hernández Hernández's black jersey mingled with Levante's sweaty Barça jersey. At least on television.