Barca beat Cadiz after medical emergency halted contest

Barcelona earned their fifth consecutive win in all competitions after beating Cadiz in a La Liga encounter. After a goalless first half which saw Barca play better without being able to find the breakthrough, the away side took the lead 10 minutes into the second half through Frenkie de Jong. Then, Lewandowski doubled the lead in the 65th minute and then Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele put the icing on the cake in the closing stages. However, the game was overshadowed by a medical emergency in the crowd at 0-2 in the 82nd minute which saw the game halted for 55 minutes.

Cadiz came into the contest without having scored or got a point, but they started brightly. Inside two minutes, they had the first opportunity of the game when Ruben Sobrino hit wide of the goal. Barca then had a good spell and nearly scored in the 10th minute when Gavi played the ball to Raphinha, but the Brazilian's shot came back off the post. 

The home side played with a positive attitude for the entire first half, but were unable to create anything meaningful on goal. Barca, on the other hand, did have some more chances. Depay could have scored after a short corner was flicked across the area by Araujo, but Depay hit wide. Then, just before the break, there was a moment of controversy. 

Alex Balde got himself into the Cadiz penalty area and Ivan Alejo blocked his path with both his arms. It seemed a clear penalty, but the referee and VAR decided otherwise. The decision left Balde and the rest of the Barca players puzzled while Xavi was spotted complaining to the officials. Then, right on half-time, Ferran Torres' attempt to curl one into the far corner went just wide of the mark. It remained goalless at the interval and Barca's players felt aggrieved.

 

September 10, 2022

The second period saw Cadiz apply some early pressure and San Emeterio had a rare chance for the hosts to take the lead after Lucas Perez's ball was not dealt with and San Emeterio hit off target. That miss proved to be costly as Barca soon hit the front. 

Raphinha played a lovely ball for Gavi who cut back from the by-line, Ledesma got a touch to it and Frenkie de Jong was there to tap in the loose ball. Then, with 25 minutes remaining, Lewandowski killed off the contest when he turned in Raphinha's square pass after De Jong was unable to bundle in at the near post. 

On the pitch matters ended up taking a back seat in the 80th minute when a medical emergency caused the game to be halted. There were concerned looks on the faces of the players, supporters and even the referee while the doctors did their best to attend to the supporter. After 20 minutes, the referee sent the players down the tunnel and the match resumed at 21:05 CEST, 55 minutes after the initial stoppage.

Once the game got back underway at a now half-empty Nuevo Mirandilla, Ansu Fati netted four minutes from time. Dembele played a lovely ball for Lewandowski who saw off Joseba Zaldua before squaring for Ansu Fati to tap in. Then, in stoppage time, Ousmane Dembele got on the scoresheet after he ran into the box and his shot was tipped into the goal by the goalkeeper.

The result saw Cadiz's miserable season continues. They have yet to score this season and, after conceding the first goal, they never looked like getting anything from the contest. They travel to Valladolid in their next match on Friday.  As for Barca, they are temporarily top of the league and they host Elche next Saturday after their trip to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League in midweek.