3 days before the match vs Bayern, Xavi started the game with a lineup full of rotations. Pique and Memphis Depay started the match. For both of them it was their first minutes in the league. Moreover, Hector Bellerin started as the Right Back, and played the whole game.
At the end of the day, Barcelona managed to breat the ‘Cadiz Jinx’ and finally beat them. But naturally, the most memorable events from this game would be the dramatic pics from the stands. One Cadiz fan suffered a cardiac arrest, and the match stopped for about 1 hour. Meanwhile, another person in the stands fainted. Eventually, the game resumed.
First Half
Xavi clearly wanted to rest as many players possible before Bayern. That’s why we saw players like Dembele, Pedri, Ansu and Lewandowski start on the bench. Moreover, Jules Kounde and Eric Garcia didn’t play a single minute tonight. And you could see the difference in the level of the players. However, you can expect them to beat Cadiz, that started the season terribly.
During the first half, Barcelona managed to get some good chances to score. Raphinha, Memphis and Ferran could take the lead for FC Barcelona. But they didn’t manage to do that.
A minute of controversy arrived when Alex Balde received the ball at the edge of the box. Then it seemed pretty obvious that the Cadiz defender grabbed Balde and made a foul. However, the referee and the VAR didn’t interrupt.
At the end of the hald FC Barcelona and Cadiz were still at 0-0.
Second Half
Xavi didn’t make changes at the start of the second half, but he did send some of the usuals to warmup.
10 minutes into the second half, and Raphinha found Gavi inside the box. Gavi passed the ball and Frenkie de Jong was there to make it 1-0.
Few minutes later Xavi made a tripple change. Pedri, Dembele and Lewandowski entered the field. It took Lewandowski 8 minutes to score, after a pass by Raphinha.
It looked like FC Barcelona are cruising to win the match. Ansu Fati and Marcos Alonso also entered the field.
But then, at the 81st minute a fan in the stands suffered from cardiac arrest. At that point all the medical teams went over to treat this person. After few minutes of finding out what’s going on, both teams went to the locker room.
It took 1 hour to stabilize the situation. After the CEO of Cadiz said that the person is stable in the nearest hospital, both teams were set to resume the match.
In the last minutes, FC Barcelona managed to score 2 more goals. Both of them after assists by Lewandowski.
Ansu Fati scored the 3rd goal, and Dembele scored the 4th.
Bottom Line
Some very dramatic events tonight, unrelated to the match itself. But at the bottom line FC Barcelona will now focus on the next rival – FC Bayern.
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