Barcelona 0-1 Cadiz: Match Review

After a painful exit from Europe, Barcelona took on Cadiz in the hope to restore their pride at Camp Nou. In theory, it should have been a comfortable outing for the second-placed team in the league against a relegation-threatened side.

However, it was yet another one of those frustrating nights for Xavi’s side. Moreover, with several players missing, a clear plan seemed to be missing for the hosts.

Xavi opted for an interesting lineup with the options available. Ronald Araujo’s suspension meant that Clement Lenglet started in defence alongside Eric Garcia. Sergino Dest started at right-back.

In midfield, Gavi took Pedri’s place, with Frenkie de Jong and Sergio Busquets taking the other two spots. In the final, Aubameyang started on the bench with Memphis Depay taking his place.

The game got off to an electric start with Barcelona having the devil’s share of possession. Their efforts were rewarded with an early chance when Ousmane Dembele attempted to go for goal in the fourth minute.

Cadiz began to engineer a stronger resistance from the twentieth minute. Soon, the visitors boasted of a host of chances themselves. In the 27th minute, Sobrino laid off a wonderful pass to Lucas who failed to find the back of the net.

The 40th minute brought with it a huge chance for Xavi’s side to take the lead. Dembele dribbled past three Cadiz players to get into the box and took a shot instead of finding an unmarked de Jong on his right.

Despite dominating the proceedings in the first half, Barcelona were poor in the final third. It was Sergio’s side who walked into the dressing room with the better chance to have scored in the opening period.

The second half got off to a flyer when the visitors found the back of the net just three minutes after the restart. Lucas Perez got onto the end of a rebound off Sobrino’s header and beat Ter Stegen to give his side the lead.

The Catalans tried to make an instant comeback two minutes later when Frenkie de Jong combined with Dembele at the edge of the box. However, the run was fruitless.

Cadiz had a sensational chance to make it 2-0 when Alejo sent in a cross to Alex Fernandez in space. However, the Spaniard failed to bury his chance. Two minutes later, Lucas failed to double his team’s lead once again.

Eric Garcia’s attempt at goal was well stopped by Ledesma late in the game. The goalkeeper struck once again when he sensationally denied Aubameyang from point-blank range in the 89th minute. In the end, Barcelona could not find a way back into the game.

With this result, Barcelona have failed to beat Cadiz in four meetings since their promotion last season. The visitors move out of the relegation zone, while the Catalans have a host of concerns that need urgent attention.