Lewan can't stop scoring for Barca

BARCELONA－Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to help Barcelona win 4-0 at Cadiz in the Spanish league on Saturday as the Poland striker extended his superb scoring run ahead of a mouth-watering clash against former club Bayern Munich.

Play was paused for more than half an hour toward the end of the game after a fan suffered a heart attack in the stands. Cadiz said in a statement that the man was successfully treated with a defibrillator by a medical team. He was evacuated on a stretcher and admitted to a local hospital. Cadiz said that Barcelona's players also lent the medics their defibrillator in case it was needed. Cadiz did not specify which team the fan supported.

The game then restarted for the final eight minutes.

Lewandowski scored his ninth goal in five games to double Barcelona's lead after Frenkie de Jong's 55th-minute opener. Lewandowski has only failed to score in one game－his debut－since joining Barcelona from Bayern this summer.

Following the halt in play for the ill fan, Lewandowski assisted Ansu Fati before Ousmane Dembele struck from long range to make it a rout.

A fourth league win in a row lifted Barcelona to the top of the standings, one point ahead of Real Madrid. Defending champion Madrid was due to host Real Mallorca on Sunday.

Barca coach Xavi Hernandez left Lewandowski, Dembele and Pedri Gonzalez out of his starting lineup ahead of Tuesday's trip to Germany in the Champions League. All three came on moments after De Jong's goal.

Xavi and his Cadiz counterpart, Sergio Gonzalez, both wished the stricken fan a quick recovery, agreeing that the incident, which silenced the Nuevo Mirandilla Stadium in southern Spain, was a reminder that soccer is just a game.

"Health, once again, is the most important thing," Xavi said. "We hope that he gets better as soon as possible." Barcelona tweeted: "Today, there were more important things than football."

Playing Bayern will pit Barcelona against a team that has dominated it in recent seasons when they met in Europe. Bayern humiliated Barcelona 8-2 in 2020 and beat the Spanish club twice－both 3-0 scorelines－last year.

Cadiz hung tight until Raphinha found Gavi Paez all alone near the end line, where the midfielder crossed the ball into the box. Goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma could only push it toward the penalty spot where De Jong arrived to fire home.

The second goal was a similar team move down the right flank in the 65th. Hector Bellerin, who debuted for Barcelona, played Raphinha clear and the Brazilian squared the ball to De Jong. Ledesma stopped De Jong's effort from close range, with Lewandowski sliding in and sweeping it over the line.

"It wasn't a great game, but it was a good one," said Xavi.

Agencies