Cadiz 0-1 Barcelona
João Félix may have secured himself a starting spot in Barcelona’s crunch Champions League clash with Paris Saint-Germain after a stunning winner in La Liga on Saturday.
Félix scored the only goal with a bicycle kick as Barca kept their outside chance of retaining their Spanish title alive with all three points at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.
Former Benfica man Félix was a substitute during last week’s 3-2 Champions League victory in Paris in the first leg of the quarter finals. Felix was also on the bench for Barca’s previous La Liga win over Las Palmas, but boss Xavi handed the Portuguese a chance from the start as Los Cules travelled to Andalusia to meet Cadiz.
The only goal of the game came in the 37th minute, with Félix scoring from close range with an overhead kick despite the close attention of the Cadiz defence. After the match, Xavi praised the performance of his Portugal international, who many believe could have earned himself a place in the line-up against PSG.
“Félix is a very talented player, yes,” said the Barca coach. “He’s at ease, he’s still happy. He played a great game. We leave him a bit of freedom of movement to exploit his talent and I think he has done wonderfully. The goal was made all by himself.”
Félix was widely praised not just for his goal, but for his overall performance. Xavi says Barca are expecting “a war” against PSG, who arrive at Camp Nou hoping to overturn the 3-2 deficit. The French champions will have Portuguese quartet Nuno Mendes, Vitinha, Danilo Pereira and Gonçalo Ramos in their ranks for what promises to be an intriguing encounter on Tuesday.
By @SeanGillen9
