Cadiz 2-1 Barcelona, Player Ratings: Messi shines despite fourth defeat of the season
Barcelona’s troubled season went from bad to worse on Saturday with a 2-1 defeat to Cadiz that left Ronald Koeman’s side seventh in the Spanish top-flight table with just two wins from their last five league games.
Despite the defeat, there were some notable individual performances from Koeman’s players that perhaps suggested the game was more unfortunate than the result suggested.
✔️ GOOD PERFORMANCE
Although Barcelona may not be at their very best this season, most teams still need incredible performances from their goalkeepers to keep the Catlan side at bay.
Fortunately for Cadiz that’s exactly what Jeremias Ledesma provided at the Estadio Ramon de Carranza stadium on Saturday evening.
Over the course of the match Ledesma faced 12 shots from Barcelona and pulled off eight saves to ensure all three points for his team.
❌ BAD PERFORMANCE
It probably goes without saying that when Barcelona lose a game after scoring one goal it’s most likely the fault of the man playing up front. And on Saturday evening Martin Braithwaite did very little to explain why Koeman continues to stick with the senior Danish striker in this Barcelona side.
Despite featuring for the entire game, Braithwaite managed just one shot on target against Cadiz and just six passes in the final third for Barcelona.
On a night Koeman undoubtedly needed the 29-year-old forward to show his worth for the side, Braithwaite did very little to suggest he was up to the task of leading Barcelona’s attacking line.
⭐ STAR MAN
Despite watching his team pick up their fourth defeat of the season, this certainly wasn’t a game that Lionel Messi allowed to pass him by.
The Barcelona forward hasn’t been in the best of form this season, but he undoubtedly did all he could to turn the result around for his team.
Over the course of the 90 minutes no player made more dribbles than Messi. Couple that with 10 shots and five shots on target and it undoubtedly seems as though the Argentine international got in all the right positions and made all the right moves but on the night it just didn’t work for him.
Cadiz 2-1 Barcelona: Player Ratings, Match Stats, Player Stats