FCI Levadia returned to winning ways in emphatic fashion on Sunday, cruising to a dominant 5-0 home victory over Nõmme United in Round 22 of the Premium Liiga. Brazilian winger Wendell stole the headlines with a second-half hat-trick, while Gregor Lehtmets marked his first league start of the season with a goal before being forced off injured.
Following Bubacarr Tambedou’s transfer to Danish football, Levadia handed Lehtmets his first league start of the campaign in attack. Head coach Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko also left Mihkel Ainsalu on the bench.
Levadia dominated from the opening whistle and created several chances inside the opening quarter of an hour. Liivak, Roosnupp and Lehtmets all tested goalkeeper Gregor Lagus, while Wendell struck the post as the home side piled on the pressure.
The breakthrough finally arrived in the 22nd minute. After a corner was only partially cleared, Rasmus Peetson delivered a dangerous ball back into the six-yard box where Lehtmets was perfectly placed to apply the finishing touch and score his first Premium Liiga goal of the season.
Levadia doubled their lead in the 30 minute. Maksim Skvortsov floated a corner to the far post where captain Peetson met it with a controlled finish to make it 2-0.
The evening quickly turned bittersweet for the young forward Lehtmets. Just ten minutes later he landed awkwardly after challenging for a cross and appeared to suffer a serious arm injury, forcing him off in the 34th minute as Kirss replaced him.
Deep into first-half stoppage time the hosts effectively put the contest beyond doubt. Fine interplay between Roosnupp and Saliste down the left eventually saw the ball break kindly for Wendell, who smashed an unstoppable effort into the top corner for Levadia’s third.
The Brazilian wasted little time after the restart before getting on the scoresheet again. Just two minutes into the second half, substitute Mihkel Ainsalu found Wendell on the right wing, and after a couple of quick feints past his defender, the winger curled a precise finish into the far corner for 4-0.
Nõmme United’s difficult evening became even worse on the hour mark. Zakaria Beglarišvili caught Peetson high on the shin with his studs, and after a VAR review the experienced midfielder was shown a straight red card, reducing the visitors to ten men.
Despite their numerical advantage, Levadia continued to push forward in search of more goals. Lagus denied Wendell, Ainsalu and Kirss on several occasions, while Vallner was called into action only sporadically at the opposite end.
Wendell completed his hat-trick in the 87th minute after Levadia won possession in midfield. The Brazilian exchanged passes with Ainsalu before calmly rolling the ball into the far corner from inside the penalty area to complete a superb individual performance.
The 5-0 victory capped a thoroughly dominant evening for Levadia, who controlled the match from start to finish. Levadia still are at the top of the league table with 50 points after 21 matches, nine points in front of Kalju and 11 points in front of Flora, who still have a game in hand.
FCI Levadia vs Nõmme United – 5-0 (3-0)
Goals: Lehtmets 22′, Peetson 30′, Wendell 45+2′ 47′ 87′
| # | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  FCI Levadia |
21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 55 | 17 | 38 | 50 |
| 2 |  Nõmme Kalju |
22 | 12 | 5 | 5 | 40 | 17 | 23 | 41 |
| 3 |  FC Flora |
20 | 13 | 0 | 7 | 40 | 21 | 19 | 39 |
| 4 |  Paide |
21 | 10 | 5 | 6 | 33 | 28 | 5 | 35 |
| 5 |  Pärnu Vaprus |
21 | 8 | 3 | 10 | 29 | 39 | -10 | 27 |
| 6 |  Tammeka |
19 | 8 | 2 | 9 | 22 | 31 | -9 | 26 |
| 7 |  Nõmme United |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 40 | 53 | -13 | 25 |
| 8 |  Harju |
22 | 8 | 1 | 13 | 32 | 38 | -6 | 25 |
| 9 |  Kuressaare |
22 | 6 | 3 | 13 | 22 | 36 | -14 | 21 |
| 10 |  Narva Trans |
22 | 5 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 50 | -33 | 16 |
