Health scare for Cadiz fan overshadows Barcelona victory
At time of writing, no news has been given on the status of the supporter with Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma appearing to run a defibrilator over to the attending medical staff during the break in play. However after around 30 minutes, play resumed suggesting a thankfully positive outcome to the incident.
With a crunch match against Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on the horizon, Barca rested a number of first-team players, notably Robert Lewandowski and Pedri.
The absence of the Polish forward was keenly felt, as the visitors struggled to translate their dominance into a bombardment on goal, though Raphinha did get an early sighter, striking the post before Ferran Torres’ rebound was well saved.
Deputising for Lewandowski through the middle, Memphis Depay failed to take advantage of the openings presented his way, with his shots lacking the power to beat Ledesma.
Understandably, Barcelona coach Xavi appeared frustrated on the touchline, and his mood wasn’t improved when the referee waved away appeals for a penalty after Alejandro Balde was tripped by Ivan Alejo.
As changes were prepared, the visitors strung together their best move of the contest and took a deserved lead, with the attack starting via Raphinha’s incisive through-ball on the right, which found Gavi in space.
The youngster pulled the ball back into the danger area, and though his cross was only parried by Ledesma, it fell straight into the path of the arriving Frenkie De Jong, who couldn’t fail to score his first goal of the season.
A second soon arrived for the Blaugrana, with substitute Lewandowski on target just eight minutes after his introduction. Raphinha’s cut-back to De Jong ended in a goal-mouth scramble, and Lewandowski’s predatory instincts put him in the right place at the right time to take full advantage.
Barcelona were on-course for another memorable victory, but it was thrown into perspective ten minutes from scheduled time when a health emergency in the crowd led to a lengthy delay.
Almost immediately after the restart, Barcelona added a third on the counter through Ansu Fati, before Ousmane Dembele scored in spectacular fashion, sending a defender the wrong way and emphatically finishing off the post.
Four wins from the first five games sent Xavi’s men top, while Cadiz remain rooted to the bottom of the La Liga table after losing all of their fixtures, additionally remaining the only side across Europe’s top five leagues yet to score.
