Levante 3 Getafe 0: Host off the bottom with vital victory

Goals from Jose Luis Morales, Giuseppe Rossi and Joan Verdu meant Levante pulled level on points with nearest rivals Granada, leapfrogging it in the table by virtue of a better goal difference.

Levante's Jose Luis Morales

Levante hauled itself off the foot of La Liga with a 3-0 home win over Getafe on Friday.

Goals from Jose Luis Morales, Giuseppe Rossi and Joan Verdu meant Levante pulled level on points with nearest rivals Granada, leapfrogging it in the table by virtue of a better goal difference.

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Morales broke the deadlock with a fantastic solo effort with 10 minutes gone when he picked the ball up near the half-way line, cut in from the left wing and jinked past three opposition players before firing low across Vicente Guaita.

Rossi made it 2-0 from the penalty spot – his second goal since joining from Fiorentina – after Santiago Vergini fouled Morales, the Italy international opting for a long, stuttering run-up for his spot-kick before coolly dispatching it. 

Verdu clinched a crucial three points nine minutes from time when he finished his determined run with a rising close-range shot.

The win was Levante's fifth in the league in 2015-16 and boosted its survival hopes.