Deportivo de A Coruña and Levante shared the points at Riazor on Friday night, 16 October 2026, after a 1-1 draw that swung on one moment of Yeremay magic and one goalkeeping error at the other end. Bil Nsongo put the home side ahead after Yeremay Hernández had carved open the Levante defence, but Dani Requena levelled late on when a long ball caught Deportivo goalkeeper Leo Román napping, the ball squirming under his body and over the line.
The result leaves both clubs stuck. Deportivo sit eighth in La Liga on 11 points, Levante 17th on seven, and neither has won in five matches. For a Friday night fixture that opened matchday nine, that shared frustration was the story of the evening in A Coruña.
How the night unfolded at Riazor
Antonio Hidalgo’s Deportivo, set up in a 4-4-2, and Luís Castro’s Levante, in a 4-3-3, produced a first half that was tight in every sense. Chances were scarce, but the two that came were big ones. Mathew Ryan, the Levante goalkeeper, pushed away a Quagliata strike, while at the other end Leo Román had to be sharp when a Bardeli effort deflected off a Deportivo defender and threatened to sneak in at his near post. The referee, Manuel Jesús Orellana Cid, added just one minute, and the teams went in level.
The second half carried more urgency. Yeremay, increasingly influential, forced Ndukwe into trouble down the left and delivered a cross that Nsongo headed over. Then, midway through the half, the breakthrough arrived — and it had Yeremay’s fingerprints all over it.
Yeremay’s spark, Nsongo’s finish
Yeremay picked the ball up in midfield and drove straight at Dela, twisting him inside out before letting fly. Ryan parried, and Nsongo reacted quickest, dinking the rebound over the stranded goalkeeper to send Riazor up. It was Nsongo’s reward for a lively evening, and it owed everything to the man who created the chaos.
After the match, Deportivo’s players were asked about Yeremay, who wore a swimming cap on his head after the break to protect a cut. “Everyone knows how important Yere is for us, for the club, for the city — seeing him with that spark is a luxury and we can enjoy it,” one said. On the goalscorer himself: “He’s a super professional, super humble kid, and I’m delighted he got the reward of the goal. Strikers need them.”
Yeremay had a painful moment too. Requena’s studs caught him in the face as he jumped, leaving him bleeding, and the game paused while he was treated. He returned with the cap, and kept running at defenders.
Requena’s equaliser and the error that decided it
Levante, to their credit, kept pushing. Castro had made four changes to his starting eleven after the frantic 3-3 draw with Sevilla on Monday — Enzo Bardeli and Dani Requena among those coming in, with Jon Ander Olasagasti dropping to the bench — and the reshaped midfield kept Deportivo honest. When the equaliser came, it was ugly for the home side.
A ball over the top sent Ivan Ratkov chasing, and he hooked it back across goal for Requena. The midfielder’s left-footed strike was tame enough, but Leo Román let it slip beneath him, the ball crawling under his body and in. From a Deportivo perspective, it was a gift. From Requena’s, it was the kind of goal substitutes dream of.
Deportivo nearly answered immediately. In the closing minutes, with Levante’s defence opened up, Diego Villares found himself through on Ryan — and instead of shooting, squared it to Jensen, who rattled the crossbar with the goal gaping. Faces of disbelief around Riazor told the story. Eight minutes of added time came and went, Dela’s free kick was punched clear by Leo Román, and the points were split.
What the managers and players said
Hidalgo admitted the concession stung. “We adjusted a couple of things at half-time and did what we wanted,” he said of his interval team talk. “You go ahead and then they equalise — it hurts, the truth is.” On the bigger picture, he was pragmatic: “We’re aware it’s going to be a long year. A point is a point, but once you’re ahead, it hurts.”
Riki, the Deportivo forward, was similarly blunt on television: “We’re gutted. At home in these kinds of games we have to take three. It was a very tight match and when you go in front you have to close it out. It wasn’t to be.”
On the Levante side, Roger Brugué was proud of the away performance. “We went for the game from the start,” he said. “Away from home we were missing that — we were often waiting. Today we went for it.” He also flagged the danger Yeremay posed: “We knew that in transition they’re very good. In one of the few, Yeremay was able to run and it ended in a goal. But the team turned it around and went for the game.” Looking ahead, he added: “Now at home, thinking about Wednesday. At home we’re strong and we have days to recover. We’ll go for the three points.”
The table after matchday nine’s opener
The draw nudged Deportivo to 11 points and eighth place, with 13 goals scored in all competitions this season and a goal difference of +1. Levante sit 17th on seven points, their goal difference at -4, with 12 goals scored. Both teams have now gone five matches without a win — Deportivo drawing with Real Betis and Getafe either side of defeats to Real Sociedad and Sevilla, Levante drawing with Sevilla and Málaga around losses to Villarreal and Barcelona.
For Levante, the schedule has been brutal. They played Sevilla on Monday night and were back in action barely four days later, which partly explains Castro’s rotation. For Deportivo, the frustration is sharper: a home game against a side below them in the table, a lead secured, and two points left on the pitch because of a handling error and a missed sitter.
Lineups and the rotation gamble
Castro’s four changes reshaped Levante into a 4-3-3 with a midfield trivote, Ivan Romero restored as the lone striker. Mathew Ryan kept goal behind Dela, Ifeanyi Ndukwe and Manu Sánchez, with Oriol Rey anchoring midfield and Brugué wide. Nacho Pérez, Requena, Bardeli and Thiago Fernández came into the side, with Jeremy Toljan, Olasagasti, Víctor García and Yanis Musuayi making way. Olasagasti and Ratkov later came on as substitutes, as did Toljan and García.
Hidalgo named Leo Román in goal behind Ximo Navarro, José María Giménez, Bright Ede and Giacomo Quagliata, with Riki, Diego Villares, Mario Soriano, Yeremay Hernández, Luismi Cruz and Nsongo completing the eleven. Alti and Adama Traoré came on for Navarro and Cruz, Jensen and Angeliño replaced Yeremay and Riki, and Loureiro took over from the injured Ede late on.
Head-to-head: Levante had won the last two
Coming into the night, Levante held the recent edge in this fixture. They won 2-1 at Riazor on 25 January 2025 and beat Deportivo 2-1 at home on 24 October 2024, both in La Liga. The last meeting before that was a 2-2 draw back on 27 January 2018. Friday’s draw means Levante’s winning run against Deportivo ends at two, but the granota side will feel the better of the two away performances.
What comes next
Levante return home to face their next opponent on Wednesday, with Brugué already framing it as a must-win: “At home we’re strong.” Deportivo, meanwhile, will stew on the Jensen chance and the Román error — the difference between a statement win and a point that feels like a defeat. With a long season ahead, as Hidalgo himself acknowledged, both squads know the margins at this level are unforgiving.
Yeremay was named MVP of the match, a fitting nod to the game’s standout performer. If Deportivo are to climb the table, keeping him fit and firing looks like the surest route. If Levante are to survive, nights like this — organised, brave, and ruthless enough to punish a mistake — are the template.
FAQ
What was the final score of Deportivo vs Levante on 16 October 2026?
The match at Riazor ended 1-1. Bil Nsongo scored for Deportivo after Yeremay Hernández’s run and shot, and Dani Requena equalised late for Levante when Leo Román let his left-footed effort slip under him.
Who was named MVP of Deportivo vs Levante?
Yeremay Hernández of Deportivo was named MVP of the match after creating the opening goal and repeatedly troubling the Levante defence.
Where do Deportivo and Levante sit in the La Liga table?
After the draw, Deportivo are eighth on 11 points and Levante are 17th on seven points. Both teams are on five-match winless runs.
Who was missing from the match?
Deportivo were without Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Lorenzo Amatucci, both ruled out, while Levante were without Etta Eyong.