https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ep_ewaqscsE

Barcelona continued their unbeaten start to the season and have won a fourth La Liga game in a row thanks to a 4-0 victory over bottom of the table Càdiz at the Nuevo Mirandilla on Saturday. After a slow start in the first half, the Blaugrana showed their superiority and found the goals in the second to finally beat Cádiz for the first time in 16 years.

FIRST HALF

The first 45 minutes followed the same script as all the other meetings between Barça and Cádiz: the Blaugrana had the lion’s share of the possession and sent plenty of bodies forward, and their best chance came in the 10th minute when Raphinha hit the inside the post but the ball somehow didn’t go in.

Barça never suffered defensively and Cádiz couldn’t bring any trouble on the counter, but they managed to frustrate a Barça attack that couldn’t play with the same intensity and creativity from the previous games. The Catalans also didn’t get any help from the referee and VAR, who both ignored a strong penalty shout when Alejo brought down Alejandro Balde in the box.

At halftime, a mediocre Barça performance left all the work to do in the second half. Thankfully for Xavi Hernández, there were several high-quality options on the bench to try and change things.

SECOND HALF

Barça played a much better second half offensively, making more runs in behind and passing the ball quicker between the lines, not giving Cádiz the chance to set up and forcing the home team to lose their shape.

It took just 10 minutes to find the back of the net in the second half thanks to a great run into space by Gavi to receive a through ball from Raphinha, and after Gavi’s cross was deflected by Ledesma the ball fell perfectly to Frenkie De Jong who smashed it home to break the deadlock.

Robert Lewandowski, Ousmane Dembélé and Pedri came off the bench shortly after the opening goal to try and finish things off with a second, and it did come when Raphinha received the ball inside the box and tried to square it for a De Jong tap-in, and after the ball ricocheted off three or four players it was Robert Lewandowski who finally pushed into the net to double Barça’s lead.

The final 20 minutes saw Cádiz try and go forward looking for a goal to get back in the game, but Barça did a good job of keeping possession and avoiding any trouble. The game was then interrupted for nearly 20 minutes due to a medical emergency in the crowd, and play was suspended with the players being sent to the dressing room.

After the situation was resolved and the supporter was taken to a hospital, thankfully still alive according to the Cádiz president, the players returned for a quick warmup and the match resumed in the 82nd minute.

Barça continued to cruise to the finish and added two more goals: the first came when Dembélé played a through ball to Lewandowski and the Pole showed his strength to shield the defender inside the box before giving Ansu Fati a tap-in, and Dembélé joined the scoring party with a shot from outside the box that went into the net despite Ledesma getting a hand to the ball.

The final whistle came to give Barça their first win over Cádiz since 2006, and the Blaugrana continue their unbeaten start to the season. Bayern Munich is next, and the team looks ready for that battle.