published: thursday 22 november 2012, 21.33cet helsingborgs ıf 1-3 levante ud
the spanish visitors booked their place in the last 32 with a game to spare after a commanding win that extinguished helsingborg's slim hopes.
a comfortable win against group l opponents helsingborgs ıf sent levante ud into the uefa europa league round of 32 in their maiden european campaign.
first-half goals from ángel and papa diop put the visitors in command before vicente ıborra left the result beyond doubt nine minutes from time. helsingborg pulled one back through substitute thomas sørum but could not prevent a loss that has them bottom of the group and eliminated.
levante started strongly, controlling possession and attacking with intent. midfielder míchel twice miscued when well-placed in the opening ten minutes but juan ıgnacio martínez's side would soon get the reward their play deserved. the lively rubén garcía picked the ball up on the edge of the helsingborg area and slid a clever pass through to ángel, who coolly slotted past pär hansson.
with álvaro and nikola djurdić isolated up front, the hosts' best chance of the first half came from a corner, joseph baffo seeing his powerful header cannon off team-mate erlend hanstveit and over the bar. that would prove a rare moment of respite, however, as levante continued their dominance. their second goal arrived on 37 minutes, diop beating hansson with a towering header following neat wing play from pedro ríos.
helsingborg rallied after the interval and came close to reducing the arrears, may mahlangu surging into the levante box only to be denied by the alert keylor navas. the swedish team poured forward in greater numbers as the half wore on yet were caught cold, ıborra sweeping in levante's third following a neat build-up involving ríos and josé barkero. sørum's late strike salvaged some pride for helsingborg though the evening belonged to the spanish outfit.
