Barcelona’s miserable week came to an end with an unlikely home loss to lowly Cadiz.
Cadiz handed Barcelona their second home loss in a row with a shock 1-0 win over the Catalans.
Xavi Hernandez’s side had gone unbeaten in 15 games before Barca were booted from the Europa League on Thursday after a 3-2 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt saw them exit the competition 4-3 on aggregate.
The hosts really never got going in front of a disgruntled crowd as the first half ended scoreless, but Cadiz took a surprising lead early in the second half when Lucas Perez scored from close range after a scramble in front of Marc-Andre ter Stegen’s goal.
Barcelona pushed for the equalizer, but Cadiz stood firm and saw out the match as the hosts fell further adrift in the standings and put their chances of finishing in the Champions League places in jeopardy.
Ter Stegen saved Barca on several occasions before substitute Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang almost snatched a point for Barcelona who have now lost two home games in a row for the first time since 2003.
It was a first loss in 16 La Liga games for Barca, who had also won their last seven in a row, scoring 22 goals along the way.
The result leaves Barca stuck on 60 points in second place after 31 games, 15 behind runaway La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who pulled off a stunning comeback against Sevilla on Sunday.
Meanwhile, the three points were massive for Cadiz, who moved out of the relegation zone and into 16th place in the standings on 31 points.
