By Goal.com News on Sunday, 21 February 2021
Category: Goal.com News

LIVE: Barcelona vs Cadiz

62' CHANCE! Barcelona nearly double their lead as Greizmann goes close. Messi darts into the box from the left before finding the French forward who strikes from close range. His effort looks certain to find the back of the Cadiz net, but Ledesma gets down quickly to impressively save with his body.

57' Lionel Messi has become the Barcelona player with the most LaLiga appearances (506) surpassing Xavi Hernandez (505). Also today, Sergio Busquets has become the fourth Barcelona player to reach 400 LaLiga appearances after Lionel Messi (506), Xavi Hernandez (505) and Andres Iniesta (442).

55' Pedri and De Jong are just beginning to find more room in between the Cadiz midfield and defence as Barca go in search of that vital second goal. At times in this match, the Dutch midfielder has almost played as a second striker alongside Messi.

52' Cadiz look to push forward down the left wing but Dest does brilliantly to sprint back and clear the ball against Espino to alleviate the pressure.

50' Sanchez floats a free kick into the Barcelona box from the right wing and Fali smashes a volley just past the far post. The referee blows for a foul on Pique just before the strike though and the home side escape.

48' You’d expect that the hosts will try and grab a second goal as soon as possible in an effort to deflate Cadiz. The longer it stays at 1-0, the more the away side will grow in confidence that they can force a positive result.

46' Both sides are back on the field and the second half is underway!

Barcelona boss Ronald Koeman could look towards Trincao and Puig in particular on the bench to spark some much-needed creativity into his side, who have struggled to create any golden chances to further increase their lead.

Barcelona are deservedly ahead at the break thanks to a penalty from Messi but with their lead only standing at one, Cadiz will fancy their chances in the second half. The visitors have looked strong at the back but have so far lacked any presence upfront.

45' + 2' HALF-TIME: BARCELONA 1-0 CADIZ.

45' + 1' There’ll be a minimum of two minutes of additional time played here at Camp Nou.

45' It’s clear to see that Barcelona have dominated this first half with 75% of the possession so far but the hosts haven’t actually had too many big chances in truth. Aside from the penalty which Messi slotted away, the home side have been held to just having shots from distance as Cadiz hold relatively strong at the back.

44' Pedri also finds the back of the Cadiz net but again, the linesman has his flag up for offside. That's another great decision by the officials. 

42' Griezmann cuts inside from the left and tries to find Messi in the box but Cadiz again clear the danger. If the away side can limit Barca’s lead to just one at the break, then they’ll feel that they still have a chance in this LaLiga match.

40' De Jong thinks he has a second for the hosts as he smashes in from close range, but the linesman has his flag up for offside on the far side. The following replays show that the decision from the officials was spot on.

38' Sanchez loops in a cross from the right wing for Cadiz but his delivery ends up clearing every player in the box and rolling out for a goal kick.

36' Barcelona have just lost one of their last 19 home LaLiga games against Andalusian sides (W16 D2), 3-4 vs Real Betis in November 2018.

34' BIG CHANCE! Cadiz nearly reply instantly at Camp Nou. A cross is floated in from the right which Pique clears but it falls straight to Sobrino. The Cadiz striker can’t quite angle his body quickly enough though, he instead ends up making contact with his left thigh and his effort goes just wide.

31' PENALTY TO BARCELONA! Pedri advances into the Cadiz box before he’s sandwiched in between two visiting defenders. The referee doesn’t hesitate and points straight to the spot.

29' STRIKE! Messi works the ball onto his left foot before he unleashes a curling shot at the Cadiz goal. His effort from 25 yards out is destined for the far top corner but Ledesma gets across to keep the shot out.

26' Alba moves down the left and tries to cut back a pass which is blocked by the body of a Cadiz defender. The Barcelona players appeal for a penalty, but their shouts fall on deaf ears.

23' BLOCK! Barcelona pile forward on the counter-attack and Pedri finds Griezmann just inside the Cadiz penalty area. The French forward strikes at goal from 10 yards out but Carcelen recovers well and blocks the effort.

22' Sanchez has been the bright spark for the visitors so far. His 60-yard run alleviates the pressure on the Cadiz defence for now and gives the away side the chance to muster an attack of their own.

20' Messi strikes from range, but his effort also misses the Cadiz goal by some distance. The home side are really piling the pressure on in the early stages of this LaLiga clash.

19' Dembele is the next to try his luck for the home side but his strike from 20 yards out flies over the Cadiz bar.

17' CLOSE! Barcelona force another corner that is played short this time. The home side work the ball to the edge of the box where Alba strikes from around 25 yards but his left-footed effort whistles just wide of the near post.

15' Mauro clears behind from a Lenglet chipped pass and Barcelona grab the first corner of this LaLiga match. Messi whips in the delivery from the right but a combination of Cadiz players clears the danger.

14' When out of possession – which has been the majority of the time so far – strikers Negredo and Sobrino are taking it in turns to fall back and make it a five in midfield for Cadiz. Any success that the visitors have in this match will come from their defensive structure and discipline.

12' After winning 2-1 vs Barcelona in the reverse fixture this season, Cadiz could become the first newly promoted side to win two games against them in the same LaLiga season since Salamanca in 1998/99.

10' The Argentine’s delivery isn’t the best and Cadiz shot stopper Ledesma deals with the cross with relative ease.

9' Dembele is dragged to the floor by Garrido and Barcelona have a freekick in a dangerous position from the right wing. Messi will whip this one in.

8' It’s been a solid start for Cadiz who have managed to thwart any early Barcelona chances. With the visitors currently in poor form, they’ll be looking to keep out Messi & co for as long as possible and will look to hit the home side on the break when the opportunity pops up.

7' It looks like Griezmann will start on the left and Dembele on the right as Messi takes centre stage through the middle of Barcelona’s attack in this LaLiga match. Pedri in particular will look to push on from midfield at every opportunity for the hosts. 

5' There’s currently a stoppage in play as Cadiz midfielder Sanchez receives treatment after taking a whack from Pique. It looks like he’ll be fine to continue though.

3' As expected, it’s the home side that have dominated much of the early possession in this LaLiga clash. With Barcelona having that extra man in midfield, the hosts will continue to control the ball for the majority of this match, and it’ll be up to Cadiz to go and win the ball back when the chance arises.

1' The referee blows his whistle and we’re underway here in northern Spain!

The players are emerging from the tunnel and kick-off is just moments away.

Barcelona have collected 21 out of 21 points available in their last seven LaLiga games (W7) after winning only 19 of the previous 39 (W5 D4 L4).

If it wasn’t already a tough ask for Cadiz today, the Spanish strugglers also have to contend with their own fair share of injuries and suspensions as they travel to face Messi & co. Mauro returns from suspension and plays alongside Fali in the heart of defence whilst Carcelen and Espino start as the full-backs. Sanchez, Garrido, Perea and Izquierdo make up the midfield with Sobrino and Negredo leading the line for the away side.

Barcelona are again without the services of Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto and Philippe Coutinho due to injury so boss Ronald Koeman opts for a similar starting XI to the one that faced PSG in midweek. At the back, Pique and Lenglet start in central defence with Alba and Dest operating as the full-backs. Pedri, Busquets and De Jong form the midfield three while Dembele gets a start upfront alongside Griezmann and Messi.

CADIZ SUBS: Juan Flere, David Gil, Pedro Alcala, Alex Martin, Ivan Alejo, Alex Fernandez, Jens Jonsson, Jose Mari, Jorge Pombo, Anthony Lozano, Filip Malbasic, Ivan Saponjic.

CADIZ (4-4-2): Jeremias Ledesma; Isaac Carcelen, Marcos Mauro, Fali, Alfonso Espino; Salvi Sanchez, Jon Ander Garrido, Alberto Perea, Jairo Izquierdo; Ruben Sobrino, Alvaro Negredo.

BARCELONA SUBS: Neto , Inaki Pena, Junior Firpo, Oscar Mingueza, Samuel Umtiti, Matheus Fernandes, Miralem Pjanic, Riqui Puig, Martin Braithwaite, Trincao.

BARCELONA (4-3-3): Marc-Andre ter Stegen; Sergino Dest, Gerard Pique, Clement Lenglet , Jordi Alba; Sergio Busquets, Frenkie de Jong, Pedri; Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, Ousmane Dembele.

After suffering a humiliating defeat at the hands of Kylian Mbappe and Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League in mid-week, Barcelona will be looking to get back on track with a victory against lowly Cadiz in the league. The Catalan side have won their last seven in LaLiga and will be buoyed by the fact that league leaders Atletico Madrid surprisingly lost at home to Levante yesterday. Cadiz arrive in town having won just one of their last ten but will be hoping to claim a huge scalp as the side from the south coast begin their battle against relegation.

Hello and welcome to our live text commentary of this LaLiga fixture between Barcelona and Cadiz.

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