September 24, (THEWILL) – The poor run of disappointing results that have been Barcelona’s season so far this season was on display again on Thursday as they dropped points from a match they were expecting to win after finishing with 10-men against Cadiz and struggling to hold on to a goalless stalemate.
The Estadio Ramon de Carranza saw the home side start brilliantly and with an early energetic play but Barcelona quickly settled into their familiar pattern of dominating possession. The only problem was the lack of a creative spark to cut the home side open and find the goals that they needed.
The possession counter was heavily on Barca’s side but it was mostly Barca players playing “keep ball” rather than applying it towards scoring against Cadiz. In a harsh nutshell, that was the story of the first half that the Catalan giants played that saw their beleaguered manager, Ronald Koeman, animated on the sidelines, shouting instructions.
Apart from a shot by Memphis Depay, which was hit straight at Jeremias Ledesma, the Cadiz goalkeeper, Barcelona did not do enough in the first half to break the confidence of the valiant hosts. There was a notably nasty injury that Rafael Jiménez Jarque, popularly known as “Fali”, sustained to his knee five minutes before the break.
He had swung his foot to make a routine clearance near the centre circle and immediately went down wincing in pain and clearly in real discomfort. The fans chanted their consolation while he was stretchered off the pitch with his head in his hands.
After the break, the game became livelier as both sides came very close to breaking the deadlock. Cadiz forward Alvaro Negredo almost did with a shot from range before Depay again missed a sitter just a few minutes into the half. Both sides were playing like they had been given a tough half time talk.
Yet, just as the momentum the visitors were building was looking fruitful, there was a 65th minute Frenkie de Jong dismissal for two very dismal bookable offences, with only four minutes between the first and the second cards. Sergi Roberto, who was impressive upon being introduced at the start of the second half, was yellow carded for protesting too much.
The hosts immediately tried to profit from the advantage and pushed all the harder to make their extra man count as the match progressed and fatigue began to set in. Though they had a handful of great chances, none could find a way through the impressive Ter Stegen, in the Barca goal.
There was a final blow for Barca and their under-fire manager as Koeman was sent to the stands for contest protests of the referee’s decision, putting a sour end to what was a pretty underwhelming contest and again calling Koeman’s continued stay at the Camp Nou in question.
After matchday five, La Blaugrana are 7th on the standings as they find it increasingly difficult to iron out victories in matches they were booked as favourites and may have won with Lionel Messi involved. Two wins and three draws means they have not lost a match yet but the nine points out of a possible 15 has seen them out of the top places.
This could not have been worrying except that it is very difficult to see how they can improve with their performances given that tough October fixtures await them in La Liga. They are away to current champions Atletico Madrid on Saturday, October 2; welcome 5th-placed Valencia to the Camp Nou the following weekend and host the resurgent League leaders Real Madrid on Sunday, October 24.
With the evidence of their struggles and dropped points in draws against Athletic Club, Granada and Cadiz, with the disappointing home loss to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League opener, there is no basis for optimism in the upcoming slew of tough fixtures and it might be only a financial incapacity that keeps Koeman in his job, as the post Messi era begins to unravel.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
