First half
The first half went as expected. At least for the opening 40 minutes.
Barca dominated possession, waited patiently to break down Cadiz’s very low defensive block. They kept a lid on Cadiz’s counter attack. That was their only method of going forward throughout the entire match today.
Barca found chances, sure. But they still struggled to find the last minute decisive moment that would give them a much needed goal.
That was fine, since this squad is capable of putting plenty into the back of the net at any time and within any place on the pitch. But for Barca’s sake, it’d be better to take control of the match quickly and kill of any hopes Cadiz might have in the back of their mind.
Luckily for Barca, they found their goal towards the latter stages of the first half. And it was none other than Sergi Roberto who put home another crucial goal for Barca
Roberto scores
The action was started by Ferran Torres, who took advantage of his start tonight by putting on a show on the right side. He took on a defender, got past him, got past another utilizing some brilliant skill, before taking his run wide and putting a pass into a high danger area.
The pass initially found the head of Robert Lewandowski, whose ensuing header was blocked by a Cadiz defender.
But it was Roberto who was standing in the right place at the right time, connecting with the rebound and firing it into the back of the net in a well placed area.
1-0 Barca.
Getting a goal against this low block has been a pain for Barca in the past. But like their last meeting, Barca got the first goal and with that, their confidence was shot through the roof.
But the job wasn’t done yet, in fact there were more goals to be scored.
And who better for the job, than Barca’s main man down the middle.
Lewandowski finally finds the back of the net
The second goal came from everyone’s favorite Polish supertstar.
He received a pass from Roberto, who made a darting run into Cadiz’s final third, at the very top of Cadiz’s penalty area.
Lewandowski then stayed patient, surveyed his options, before firing off a powerful right footed shot into the back of the net.
It was a very orthodox goal for Lewandowski, but it was also an important one, as the goal stood as his first goal in the last 6 La Liga matches, not including the current match against Cadiz.
This rare goal scoring drought felt abnormal for Lewandowski, but with this goal, Barca fans can only hope it’ll help spring him towards another run of goal scoring magic.
Magic Barca will need against Manchester United on Thursday night.
With this goal, the first half came to a close, with Barca maintaining a well deserved 2-0 lead. All they had to do, was avoid any backbreaking mistakes in the second half, and cruise to a nice win before the clash against United.
Luckily for them, that’s exactly what they did, but not without some scares in the closing stages.
Second half
The second half wasn’t one filled with crazy action and chances for Barca.
Fans might’ve wanted to see that, especially considering how many fringe players and players out of form needed to witness those opportunities coming to be.
But instead, it was a rather quiet half, as Barca sailed for the most part in the final 45 minutes.
There were some scary moments though, particularly towards the end of the match, and more specifically when Frenkie De Jong was subbed off. After this move, Barca lost the control they’d been carefully holding onto.
Cadiz began to create some actual decent chances, threatening Barca’s clean sheet and their potential lead.
But in the end, Barca held on to keep their clean sheet and their momentum.
2-0 was the final tally, with Barca rising again to create an 8 point gap between them and rivals Real Madrid atop La Liga. It wasn’t anything spectacular, but the job got handled, and that’s all you can ask for sometimes.
Final word
Nothing much to say here.
Barca took care of business against a club they surely were going to take care of business against. There were some demons from past times haunting over Barca, concerning their affairs with Cadiz.
But nothing stopped Barca from taking a well deserved 3 points in the end.
Good win, now let’s move on to Thursday.
Barca’s next match
Barca’s next match will be on Thursday, as they take on Manchester United in the final leg of the Playoff Round between the two clubs.
The match is away at Old Trafford.
See you all then!
