Madrid, September 24 (BNA) The pressure on Ronald Koeman increased after Barcelona’s 10-man team drew 0-0 against Cadiz at Nuevo Mirandella on Thursday.
Speculation about the Dutchman’s future abounded after a slow start to a La Liga season that saw Barcelona fall to Athletic Bilbao and Granada in their first four matches, while also losing 3-0 to Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
Things didn’t improve much for the Catalan giants in Andalusia, German news agency dpa said, keeping their Cadets comfortably away, with their misery worsening midway through the second half when Frenkie de Jong saw the red in two bookable offenses.
Koeman was also fired in the last seconds for his protests during a frantic end.
At least one point has lifted Barcelona to seventh place – seven points behind leaders Real Madrid, who have played a game more – while Cadiz climbed to 14th place.
While Barcelona did most of the pressure in the early stages, they didn’t have a shot on target until the 30th minute, a poor attempt by Memphis Depay comfortably saved by Jeremias Ledesma.
Marc-Andre ter Stegen fired a daring shot at Alvaro Negredo from 25 yards right after the first half, while Depay misfired at his mercy at the other end.
Ledesma tipped Depay from outside the box, before Barcelona’s hopes of a positive result were dealt a blow in the 65th minute when De Jong received a second yellow card for following up on Alfonso Espino after winning the ball at the start.
Salvi Sanchez missed a great opportunity in the final 10 minutes, firing off Ter Stegen after being played by Espino, and the ball rebounding behind Ruben Sobrino.
Depay then had a better chance of stealing all three of the visitors’ points in injury time, as the Netherlands international took a long way off target after a Gerard Pique invasion that propelled Barcelona forward.
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