Sports

Lewandowski strikes again as Barca go top of LaLiga

Four second-half goals steered Barcelona to a routine 4-0 victory at Cadiz on Saturday as they moved top of LaLiga.

Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski put the Catalans in front before a lengthy stop in play due to an illness in the crowd saw the players go off the field before returning to play out the final 10 minutes.

Lewandowski teed up Ansu Fati for the third in the 86th before Ousmane Dembele rounded off the scoring in stoppage time.

Barca have 13 points from five games, one ahead of second-placed Real Madrid who host Mallorca on Sunday.

"The game is secondary at the moment, but it was an important win at a difficult place to come," Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez told Spanish TV. "We created a lot of chances, dominated the game and it's three points to keep in touch at the top of the table."

Xavi named a much-changed side from Barca's 5-1 midweek Champions League triumph over Viktoria Plzen and, one Raphina shot that hit the post aside, they rarely troubled the hosts in the first period.

That changed, however, 10 minutes after the restart when De Jong fired into an open goal after Cadiz keeper Jeremias Ledesma parried a Gavi cross into the Dutch midfielder's path.

Lewandowski, who came on as a substitute after the goal, continued his fine start to life in Spain with Barca's second 25 minutes from time to put the visitors in command.

As the game reached its conclusion there was a more than 50-minute stoppage to treat the ill fan before play could resume, with Fati and Dembele putting the gloss on the scoreline.

Source: ESPN Football/Reuters