BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Robert Lewandowski came off the bench to help Barcelona win 4-0 at Cádiz in the Spanish league on Saturday as the Poland striker extended his superb scoring run before facing former club Bayern Munich.
Play was paused for more than a half-hour as Red Cross medics attended to a fan with a medical emergency in the stands. The man, who appears to have had a heart issue, was eventually removed on a stretcher before the game 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 Dembélé struck from long range to make it a rout.
A fourth win in a row in the Spanish league lifted Barcelona to the top of the standings, one point ahead of Real Madrid before the defending champions host Mallorca on Sunday.
Coach Xavi Hernández left Lewandowski, Dembélé and Pedri González 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 Cádiz counterpart Sergio González 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.”
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 by the score of 3-0 last year.
Cádiz hung tight until Raphinha found Gavi Páez all alone near the end line, where the midfielder crossed the ball into the box. Goalkeeper Jeremías 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. Héctor Bellerín, 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.
Lewandowski fended off defender Joseba Zaldúa on the break before drawing in Ledesma and laying off for Ansu, who had also come on as a substitute, to make it 3-0. Ledesma, who assisted medics during the medical emergency by carrying equipment, couldn’t stop Dembélé’s powerful shot that hit him in the torso before finding the net.
Cádiz remained in last place after losing all five games it has played without scoring a single goal.
Marcos Alonso also debuted for Barcelona as a late substitute, while Gerard Pique made his first start of the season.
RELIEF FOR SEVILLA
Sevilla got its first win of the season in all competitions after holding on for a 3-2 victory at Espanyol while playing the final minutes with 10 men.
José Ángel Carmona, a 20-year-old defender, led Sevilla with an assist for Erik Lamela and two goals to build a 3-0 lead.
Espanyol rallied behind a penalty converted by Joselu Mato and a goal from Martin Braithwaite.
Lamela was sent off in the 84th with his second booking, but Sevilla defended well in stoppage time.
RAYO WINS
Justin Kluivert, son of former Netherlands striker Patrick Kluivert, debuted for Valencia as a second-half substitute in its 2-1 loss at Rayo Vallecano.
