VALENCIA, Spain (AP) — Cameroon striker Karl Etta Eyong scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner for Levante to beat 10-man Osasuna 3-2 on Friday and boost its chances of avoiding relegation from La Liga.
Etta Eyong scored six times in his first 10 league matches this season but hadn’t hit the net since October and he chose a perfect time to find his form again.
After replacing Pablo Martínez with a quarter of an hour remaining and the scores at 2-2 he threw himself at a loose ball and his diving header hit the net as the Valencia stadium erupted.
It was a real turnaround for a team that was 2-0 down after just 11 minutes.
Jeremy Toljan conceded an own goal 160 seconds into the match and Ante Budimir slid in at the back post eight minutes later to make it 2-0 with his 18th goal of the league season.
However, Levante fought back valiantly and a Víctor García double soon had it level.
The full back had not scored all season for Levante but he got two in the 35th and 37th minutes to delight the home fans.
His first came when he nipped in at the far post to convert a corner and his second was a spectacular effort from 30 meters that sailed over the goalkeeper’s head.
Levante had its tails up and it was given another lift on the stroke of halftime when Osasuna keeper Sergio Herrera needlessly handled outside the box and was shown a red card.
Neither side was able to break the deadlock until Etta Eyong’s dramatic late goal lifted Levante into third from bottom, equal with Alaves, the team it leapfrogged. Both clubs have 36 points, one behind Sevilla and two behind Girona, Mallorca and Elche.
Only five points separate eight teams from 12th to 19th in the table. Two of them will join the seemingly doomed Oviedo, which is in last place.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
