Barcelona’s performance again disappointed in the Spanish La Liga stage. The Bluagrana were held to a 0-0 draw by Cadiz at the Nuevo Mirandilla Stadium, Cadiz.
Barcelona ended the game with 10 men after Frenkie de Jong was sent off for receiving a second yellow card. Not enough, Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman was also sent off at the last second for disagreements after Sergio Busquets kicked the second ball on the pitch at an opposing player to stop play.
“What I said to the fourth official was there were two balls on the pitch. I asked the referee calmly, but let it go because it’s not my problem,” Koeman said after the game, quoted by Reuters.
Both sides struggled to create chances in a dull opening period, but the game came to life after the break.
Cadiz striker Alvaro Negredo forced Marc-Andre ter Stegen to make a save after the restart, before Barcelona striker Memphis Depay failed to meet Luuk de Jong’s cross, with the home goal gaping open.
Depay’s effort was thwarted by a smart stoppage by Jeremias Ledesma as Barca tried to control the game. But Barcelona lost control after in the 65th minute midfielder De Jong was shown a second yellow card in four minutes for a tackle.
Barcelona are lucky to have Ter Stegen in goal. He saved Salvi Sanchez one-on-one and Ruben Sobrino bounced the ball wide with the goal gaping.
Depay missed a golden opportunity to win it Barcelona in the fourth minute of injury time following a strike from defender Gerard Pique. His shot went wide and the score remained 0-0.
The draw left Barcelona in seventh place in the standings with nine points from five matches. Cadiz are 14th with six from six games.
(NFL)
