FC Barcelona breezed past AD Ceuta in Copa del Rey Round of 16 as The Catalans won 5-0 in a commanding fashion. Here is the Match Report of AD Ceuta vs FC Barcelona.
What is AD Ceuta FC – Barcelona vs Ceuta Copa del Rey (Everything you need to know)
Table of contents
Match Preview
1st Half
Xavi named a heavily rotated XI for the clash as the likes of Pablo Torre, Frank Kessie, Eric Garcia and Inaki Pena all started the game.
The game was dull from the beginning as both the teams did not attack each other that much. However, FC Barcelona had the control of the game with their passing but there was not much of an attacking threat. The midfield of FC Barcelona lacked that creative ability in the absence of Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie De jong.
Nearing the half time break both teams had few chances, up until Raphinha launched an outside the box curler to give FC Barcelona the lead in the 41st minute of the game.
Players headed into the tunnel as the half time whistle blew with FC Barcelona in front with a slender 1-0 lead.
2nd Half
Gavi was subbed on for Pablo Torre at halftime which introduced some much more explosiveness into the game. In the second half, FC Barcelona moved into top gear, attacking the Ceuta half constantly. In the 50th minute, AD Ceuta tried to play from the back which went horribly wrong when Frank Kessie pounced to steal the ball and provided Lewandowski with an easy finish. This was Lewandowski’s 21st goal for FC Barcelona.
Ferran Torres who had a disappointing game once again was subbed by Xavi and Ansu Fati entered the game in the 60th Minute. It took him only 10 minutes to score, receiving the ball from Jordi Alba in acres of space Fati made a powerful run driving the ball into the Ceuta box before neatly slotting it into the far corner giving the Catalans a 3 goal cushion.
In the 77th Minute, Frank Kessie scored Barcelona’s 4th of the night heading home a cross sent by Raphinha. At the game’s dying minutes Robert Lewandowski scored his 2nd and Barcelona’s 5th of the night completing the strong performance shown by the team in the 2nd half.
Our Thoughts
The team struggled to create chances without the usual midfield trio of Pedri, Gavi and Frenkie De Jong.
The game completely changed for the good when Gavi was subbed on, the young midfielder showed explosiveness and introduced some aggression.
Credits: https://twitter.com/kakyuds/status/1616381671364005888
Frank Kessie and Raphinha played really well from the beginning, Ferran Torres once again failed to justify his hefty price tag against a relegation battling 3rd tier team while Ansu Fati continued his good run of form playing the “super sub” role of the team.
“Ansu will START on Sunday”
This is what Xavi had to say in the post match interview about Ansu Fati and after scoring crucial goals against Intercity, AD Ceuta in Copa Del Rey and Real Betis in the Super cup, Ansu Fati has definitely earned his chance of starting the next match.
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