After a lengthy delay to the action in the second half – following a medical emergency in the crowd – Barca pressed on to double their 2-0 lead against Cadiz after the restart and seal a resounding victory.
Lewandowski’s introduction straight after De Jong’s opener saw him score almost straight away, and set up two as the game approached its end.
It’s a result that the medical incident in the crowd will overshadow, but still one which showed Barcelona are back to their best.
Starting lineup:
CADIZ (4-2-3-1): Jeremaias Ledesma;
Joseba Zaldua, Luis Hernandez, Momo Mbaye, Alfonso Espino;
Alex Fernandez, Fede San Emeterio; Ivan Alejo, Ruben Sobrino, Brian Ocampo;
Lucas Perez.
BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre Ter Stegen;
Hector Bellerin, Ronaldo Araujo, Gerard Pique, Alejandro Balde;
Frenkie De Jong, Sergio Busquets, Pablo Gavi; Raphinha, Memphis Depay, Ferran Torres.
Goals:
GOOOOAAAALLLL!!! Barca finally get the breakthrough!!! Raphinha spots Gavi’s underlapping run and finds him with a brilliant throughball, and despite Gavi’s cut-back being pushed away by Ledesma, De Jong arrives late to stroke the ball home and put the Blaugrana 1-0 up!!! It’s taken a while, but Barca finally break down the resolute Cadiz defence and lead deservedly.
GOOOAAAALLLL!!!! There’s the second!!! A fast break by the visitors sees Bellerin put Raphinha into acres of space, and he crosses to the front post. De Jong comes for it, as does Ledesma and two defenders, and the ensuing scramble sees the ball pop up for Lewandowski to slide in and tuck away to make it 2-0!!! Six goals in five La Liga games for Lewandowski, and Barca have hit their stride!!
GOOOAAAALLLL!!! That’ll seal it!!! A long ball to Lewandowski gives the striker the chance to shoot, but Zaldua is all over him. He can’t shoot, but can pass, and Lewandowski tees up Fati to slot home Barca’s third, making it 3-0 on 86 minutes!
GOOOAAALLL!!! And another!!! Dembele strides towards the box, before deceiving Mbaye, shooting on his right and towards the bottom corner. Ledesma can’t keep it out, pushing the ball onto the post, from which it bounces into the opposite corner of the net to make it 4-0 on 92 minutes!!!
So, what’s next?
Barca’s 4-0 win sends them to the top of La Liga’s table on 13 points, one ahead of Real Madrid.
This could be brief, with Los Blancos yet to play, but a fight for the title looks well underway.
At the other end of the table, Cadiz remains bottom, still winless, pointless and goalless, and with a difference of -14, it will be a long season for the Andalusian side.
