Levante have held Barcelona to a goalless first half at Camp Nou, with the main action being a missed penalty from David Villa.
Barcelona started out with plenty of possession but struggled for chances in the opening 15 minutes.
That was until Andres Iniesta won a fortuitous penalty after Simao was harshly adjudged to have brought him down but Villa's effort from the spot was saved.
Iniesta struck an effort from outside the box on 30 minutes, but his side were surprisingly lacking in sharpness.
Near the end of the half Villa set Daniel Alves away down the right but Cristian Tello just could not make contact with his driven cross.