Barca hits four at Cadiz and moves top of La Liga

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

Barcelona‘s Ousmane Dembele, second left, celebrates with teammates after scoring his side’s fourth goal. | Photo Credit: AP Photo/Jose Breton

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

Frenkie de Jong and Robert Lewandowski put the Catalans in front before a lengthy stop in play due to an illness in the crowd that 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 has 13 points from five games, one ahead of second-placed Real Madrid which hosts Mallorca on Sunday.

Coach 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 half-hour stoppage to treat the ill fan before play could resume, with Fati and Dembele putting the gloss on the scoreline.