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Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (R) in action during the La Liga match against Cádiz in Cádiz, Spain, December 5, 2020. / CFP
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi (R) in action during the La Liga match against Cádiz in Cádiz, Spain, December 5, 2020. / CFP
Barcelona conceded two embarrassing goals as they suffered a surprising 2-1 away loss to Cádiz in La Liga on Saturday.
The Catalans were left behind in the eighth minute when center-back Oscar Mingueza headed the ball towards his own goal and, although goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen reached into the ball, Cadiz striker Álvaro Giménez helped cross the line.
Barça drew with a serendipitous goal in the 57th minute when Cádiz defender Pedro Alcalá deflected Jordi Alba’s cross into the net, disconcerting his impressive goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma, who had kept Barça at bay.
However, Cádiz regained their advantage six minutes later, when Álvaro Negredo took advantage of a dire confusion between Barça defenders Alba and Clement Lenglet after a throw-in.
Alba aimed the shot at Lenglet but the Frenchman could not control the ball and Negredo, on the pitch for less than a minute, ran to pressure Ter Stegen, blocked his kick and dribbled the ball past Frenkie de Jong’s dive and into unguarded. net.
Barça’s fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings with 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind the Atlético leaders. Ronald Koeman’s team have failed to win their last four away games.
The Dutch coach criticized the attitude of his players.
“It’s incredible that we lost by a goal like that, it’s a mistake that you don’t expect this team to make. It shows that we weren’t focused,” he said.
Cádiz, who recorded their first home win since returning to the top flight, moved to fifth place with 18 points. The Andalusians also beat champion Real Madrid 1-0 away from home earlier in the campaign.
Barça captain Lionel Messi had a frustrating night despite being rested for the Champions League win at Ferencvaros midweek and was repeatedly thwarted by fellow Argentinian and Rosario Ledesma in the Cádiz goal.
Ledesma also kept out a stinging shot from Miralem Pjanic in the end and a close-range shot from Antoine Griezmann.
Cádiz should have put the game out of Barça’s reach when Bobby Adekanye ran towards the goal without being challenged but failed to beat Ter Stegen.
However, their defense held firm and they achieved another major victory in their first season in the top flight for 14 years.
Players of Real Madrid and Sevilla in action during the La Liga match in Sevilla, Spain, December 5, 2020. / CFP
Players of Real Madrid and Sevilla in action during the La Liga match in Sevilla, Spain, December 5, 2020. / CFP
Real Madrid beat Sevilla 1-0 on Saturday thanks to an own goal from goalkeeper Bono, to break a three-match winless streak in La Liga and relieve pressure on coach Zinedine Zidane.
Madrid desperately needed victory after defeats to Alavés in La Liga and Shakhtar Donetsk in the Champions League and the victory took them to third place in the standings with 20 points.
The only goal in a cautious game came in the 56th minute when Bono tried to claim a low cross from Ferland Mendy to Vinicius Jr. but completely missed the ball, which bounced off his leg and slipped into the net.
Madrid closed the game to get their first league win since October, after losing to Valencia, drawing with Villarreal and losing at home to Alavés.
They will face a crucial home game against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Wednesday, with their place in the knockout phase of the Champions League at stake, and then host Atlético Madrid.
“The victory was very important for our confidence,” said Vinicius.
“We had played well in the other games but victory never came but we had no doubts and we went out to win the game.
“We know the pressure we’re under, but we like it and we know how to keep our heads.”
Source (s): Reuters
