'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Cadiz beat FC Barcelona 1-0 at the Camp Nou on Monday, April 18 to seal all three points.
After a snoozefest in the opening half, Cadiz came out with the sole intention of taking the game towards Barcelona's box. The visitors stunned the hosts with their revamped intensity and scored the opening goal of the game in the 48th minute.
Alex Hernandez's cross saw Ruben Sobrino take a swipe at goal. His initial attempt was saved by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Sobrino took another chance towards the goal but the German stood his ground and defied the Spaniard once again. Following a second save, the ball fell kindly for Lucas Perez, who tapped in from close range to break the deadlock.
Barcelona tried to creep their way back into the game but were unable to retrieve anything. Cadiz's determination to get themselves out of the relegation zone trumped everything the Catalans threw at them.
Xavi threw every trick in his book to overturn the fixture. He subbed in Luuk de Jong, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Adama Traore and Oscar Mingueza to salvage something out of the game. But it just was not meant to be as Cadiz stunned the hosts to march away with all three points.
On that note, here's a look at five talking points from the game:
#5 A tale of two wingers
Ousmane Dembele had a great game for Barcelona. Ferran Torres, on the other hand, dropped a stinker. The Frenchman was the only ray of hope moving forward. Dembele won 13 duels, made two recoveries, won two tackles, created two chances and completed 11 dribbles throughout the game. He could have done better with his shooting but was by far the best player for Barcelona.
Torres had a terrible game against Cadiz. He was nowhere close to being impactful. The Spanish international won just one out of his seven duels, lost possession 15 times, failed to complete any of his four attempted dribbles and committed three fouls throughout the game. Surprising that he was not subbed off.
#4 Real Madrid's delight
Real Madrid, following their win over Sevilla, needed 10 points out of the remaining six games regardless of the results of the other fixtures.
Barcelona dropping three points at the Camp Nou gives them a breather. This allows Los Blancos to regroup and shift their focus to their UEFA Champions League tie against Manchester City.
Carlo Ancelotti will be very pleased with the result as it all but confirms that Real Madrid will be the one to lift the La Liga trophy at the end of the season. Los Merengues sit at the top of the table with 75 points after 32 games. Meanwhile, Barcelona are second with 60 points after having played 31 games in the league.
#3 Heroic defending by Cadiz
Cadiz was too good at the back. The visitors' defensive structure was quite difficult to breach. But the standout performer at the back for Cadiz was goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma. The Argentinian made life difficult for the home team players as they struggled to find a way past him.
Ledesma made six saves throughout the game, of which three were shots from inside the box. Moreover, he made six clearances, punched the ball twice and made three high claims.
#2 The scoreline could have been more emphatic
Barcelona were lucky to escape with a 1-0 defeat as the visitors had a truck load of great chances to bury them. Cadiz wasted a lot of golden opportunities to put the game to bed. They could have easily scored two or three more goals had they not been so wasteful in front of goal.
Ivan Alejo set up the perfect ball for Alex Hernandez but the 29-year-old dragged the ball wide. It was easily one of their best chances of the game.
They spurned another chance later on as Marc-Andre ter Stegen tipped over a shot from Sobrino. The Cadiz forward had a clear view of goal but somehow managed to hit it straight towards the German goalkeeper.
#1 Rough phase for Barcelona
After getting knocked out by Eintracht Frankfurt in the quarter finals of the UEFA Europa League, Xavi would have hoped for a better performance in the league game. But Barcelona failed to regroup and lost their league game as well.
This is the first time since April 2003 that Barca have lost two home games in a row in all competitions.
The loss was Barcelona's first league loss since the beginning of 2022. It also meant that the Blaugrana's 15 game unbeaten streak in La Liga came to an end.
The last time they lost a league game was against Real Betis in early December 2021.
Xavi will have to find a way to turn this around as he would like his players to sign off the season on a high.
