Barca were leading 2-0 with 10 minutes to play when play was stopped after a supporter suffered a heart attack. Cádiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma and substitute Jose Mari helped get a defibrillator and stretcher to the supporter, who was later taken to hospital. Cádiz president Manuel Vizcaino confirmed the fan's condition was satisfactory and the match eventually resumed. Before that, Frenkie de Jong had given Barca the lead with his first goal of the season, before Lewandowski scored twice from close range. Lewandowski set up the third for Anzu Fati after the restart and Ousmane Dembele added a fourth in stoppage time. Lewandowski can't stop scoring. He needed eight minutes after coming on as a substitute against Cádiz to score his ninth goal of the season, and those goals came in just six appearances. He showed strength and power to tee up Anzu for Barca's third goal. Barca were leading when Lewandowski came on in the 57th minute. Until De Jong's opener in the 55th minute, they were struggling to break down a Cádiz side that had yet to score this season. The Dutch midfielder's first goal since February came after a fine display from Gavi, who beat Lewandowski, Dembele and Pedri on the touchline.
Despite the goal, Xavi stuck to his decision to field the trio and it didn't take long for Barca to wrap up the game from there.
Barca have now won five games in a row in all competitions and are temporarily top of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid's game against Mallorca on Sunday. What makes Xavi happy is how they find different ways to succeed. They have struggled to break down teams that sit deep against them under Xavi -- they had won just two of their last six games in which they drew before Saturday's break -- but they found a way at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandila. Next up is a trip to his former club Bayern Munich in the Champions League on Tuesday. Lewandowski, Dembele and Pedri were all on the bench as Xavi had Bayern in mind. Barca made nine changes to the team that beat Viktoria Plzen 5-1 in the Champions League in midweek, and that said in a superb first half. There was a debut for Hector Bellaire, who did OK at right-back and helped set up the second goal, and in defense we saw Gerard Piqué get his first start of the season. In attack, Ferran Torres and Memphis Depay had chances to stake their claim for more normal football. However, both were happy to cheat and came off for Lewandowski and Dembele early in the second half. Ferran will get more opportunities since he was out injured in the preseason, but Memphis might not be so lucky. The Dutch forward almost left in the summer but eventually remained the sixth-choice forward following Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's move to Chelsea.
Cadiz's Barca run over, relegation threatened
A team bottom of the league without a point or a goal in four games would normally want a visit from Barca. However, Cadiz could be forgiven for welcoming the match against Xavi's men. Since their return to La Liga in 2020, they have not lost to Barca, beating them twice, drawing twice, scoring four goals and conceding just two. But that run came to an end on Saturday, with Sergio Gonzalez's side in trouble even in the early stages of the season. Cadiz have failed to score a single goal in their five La Liga matches to date and conceded 12. It cannot be understated how important Friday's trip to Real Valladolid is -- for them -- and for Gonzalez's future.
Why did Chelsea sack Thomas Tuchel?
Roman Abramovich's ownership was assumed to be a good thing for the longevity of Chelsea managers. No English club has won more of the 21 trophies won during the Russian's 19-year reign, but 13 different managers -- two of whom finished second -- have enjoyed lasting comfort in the hot seat at Stamford Bridge. Thomas Tuchel knew what he was letting himself in for when he succeeded Frank Lampard in January 2021. Many of his predecessors (including Lampard) talked about building a dynasty, but Touchel embraced the capricious nature of the job he took on. Thanks to the elite infrastructure built to win, he's going to make the most of it. Some were wary of the vacuum created by Abramovich's distance as owner, yet allowed him the freedom to coach and train the team as he saw fit without outside interference or internal politics. The 47-year-old's previous job was at Paris Saint-Germain, where several managers have left, which cannot be said for the Ligue 1 club. At Chelsea, Tuchel was "head coach", not "manager", a different title for all the subtle but obvious differences, and that was fine. Not, in the final reckoning, Tuchel's change at Chelsea -- an unprecedented climate change at the club as UK government sanctions over Abramovich's alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin have limited the club's day-to-day operations. - Daily activities. Tuchel took on a quasi-ambassador role as the public face of the club at a tense moment when Chelsea's very existence seemed at stake. When a consortium of Los Angeles Dodgers part-owner Todd Boehly and Clearwater Capital completed its £2.5 billion takeover in May, the job changed again. Touchel was asked to take more responsibility for the transfer strategy and engage in a regular dialogue with the new owners, seeking outside input and changing his ideas. That change led to tensions that eventually led to German's dismissal this week. It also explains why Boehly and Clearlake replaced Graham Potter. Tuchel is not entirely a victim. Chelsea's performances have typically turned down more than 100 games, with their clean shoes record perhaps the best example. Touchell's previous success -- the apotheosis achieved just four months after lifting the Champions League title -- placed itself on a huge defensive record, a sudden and dramatic improvement on what had gone before. In his first 50 games, Chelsea conceded 24 goals and recorded 24 clean sheets. No team has performed better in Europe's top five leagues. The Blues conceded 53 goals in the last 50. Scoring became more of a problem, dropping from 2.53 goals per game to 1.74.
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