Out of the Champions League and also under pressure in the Europa League, plus a new scandal about possible referee bribery: FC Barcelona doesn't really come to rest. Things are still going great in the league. But they are not quite as good as Borussia Dortmund.
FC Barcelona remain unbeaten in 2023 and have maintained their comfortable lead at the top of Spain's Primera División. The Catalans also won 2-0 (2-0) at home against FC Cadiz thanks to a goal by former Bayern striker Robert Lewandowski. The team led by international goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen is now eight points ahead of Real Madrid, who won 2-0 at CA Osasuna on Saturday. Barça have never given away such a lead in the title race.
Sergi Roberto (43.) and the Polish national soccer player Lewandowski (45.1) put Barça on course for victory with a double strike just before the break. Ter Stegen also contributed to the seventh league win in a row with a strong save in the final phase. Cadiz, who have won just five of their 22 league games so far, have never been serious opponents at the Camp Nou. They did score two goals, but both were later disallowed.
Former Bundesliga superstar Lewandowski now leads the Spanish league's scorer list with 14 goals. He even had the chance to extend his lead to four goals over Karim Benzema and Joselu (11 goals each) in the second half. After all, he scored his second league goal since the end of October 2022 with his shot from the edge of the penalty area before the break.
"The two goals before the break practically sealed the win," said Barcelona coach Xavi Hernández after the game: "It was a good and solid first half. I'm satisfied, even if we got a little tired after the break. We are Happy because we defended our eight-point lead at the top."
Barcelona have won 12 of their 13 competitive games in 2023 so far. Only in the intermediate round of the Europa League was it only enough for a 2: 2 win against the English record champions Manchester United last Thursday. The Catalans are not quite as good as Borussia Dortmund, currently the hottest team in European football. The club from the Ruhr area won eight of eight competitive games in 2023 and is alone with this 100 percent balance in the top leagues of the continent.
