FC Barcelona Clinch Another Win Ahead of the Champions League
A goal from Joao Félix at the 36th minute was enough for Barcelona to bag all three points, winning 0-1 in their visit to Cádiz's Nuevo Mirandilla stadium, which pushed hard until the last moment but lacked accuracy.
This result keeps Barcelona eight points behind the top spot and leaves Cádiz in relegation positions to the Second Division.
Barcelona entered the match with suspensions for Lewandowski, Íñigo Martínez, and Cancelo. Additionally, with an eye on the Champions League tie against PSG, Xavi Hernández, absent from the bench due to suspension, shook up his starting eleven with eight changes from the last game. Only Ter Stegen, Cubarsí, and Sergi Roberto remained from the lineup that triumphed in Paris.
Real Madrid's victory in Mallorca (0-1) widened the gap for Barcelona to 11 points from the top, but it boosted Cádiz, who, needing to face Mallorca and being six points behind, had the chance to drag them into the relegation battle.
The Gaditanos started brightly in a game without a clear dominator in the opening minutes. It wasn't until the twentieth minute that a double local approach put Ter Stegen's goal in trouble, first clearing a shot from Javi Hernández after a personal move from Robert Navarro, and then easily catching a weak shot from Juanmi.
A flash of brilliance from Joao Félix was enough to break the deadlock at the Nuevo Mirandilla. A corner kick poorly cleared by the local defense found its way to the Portuguese forward, who with a half-bicycle kick between Javi Hernández and Iza Carcelén, sent the ball into the back of the local net.
Fermín could have increased the lead just before halftime. A header from Sergi Roberto left his teammate alone, who shot and beat Ledesma, but Víctor Chust appeared to deflect the ball almost on the goal line.
Eager but lacking accuracy, Cádiz started the second half as they did the first. They even had a goal disallowed for Juanmi due to an offside by several meters.
Cádiz pressed so much that Barcelona made a triple change after an hour of play. Koundé, Pedri, and Lamine Yamal came on for Christensen, Héctor Fort, and Vitor Roque, with Sergi Roberto moving to right-back.
Joao Félix, Barcelona's best man in attack, hit the post with a good shot. Cádiz didn't give up, spurred on by their fans. Meanwhile, Barcelona tried to keep possession through Pedri and keep the ball away from their area as much as possible to avoid any surprises.
In extra time, a very wide shot from Javi Hernández and a corner kick that found no Cádiz finisher were the hosts' last attempts, but to no avail.