Barcelona move top of La Liga after win at Cadiz is interrupted by medical emergency

Catalans score all four goals in second half in match delayed because of presumed heart attack in stands

Powered by automated translation

Barcelona moved to the top of La Liga after easing to a 4-0 win over bottom side Cadiz on Saturday in a match interrupted by a medical emergency in the stands.

All four goals came in the second half, with Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong breaking the deadlock in the 55th minute before Robert Lewandowski doubled their lead 10 minutes later with his sixth goal in five La Liga matches.

Ansu Fati and Ousmane Dembele completed the rout but not before the match was halted in the 82nd minute because of a presumed heart attack in the stands.

Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma grabbed a defibrillator from the team bench and sprinted across the pitch to throw it to emergency staff in the stands. The fan was taken away by ambulance.

"This sort of thing goes beyond football, we're talking about a human life here, so we all agreed to stop," coach Xavi said. "Fortunately they managed to save him."

Cadiz later said the fan had been treated by on-site medics who had their own defibrillator.

"It wasn't a great game, but it was a good one," said Xavi, who takes his team to Bayern Munich for a Champions League match on Tuesday.

Barca sit top of the table on 13 points from five games, although Real Madrid can return to the summit when the defending champions host Mallorca on Sunday afternoon.

Atletico Madrid beat Celta Vigo 4-1 in an open match to climb into the top four on 10 points.

Argentine striker Angel Correa put them ahead after nine minutes. He was set up by compatriot Rodrigo De Paul, who scored the second on 50 minutes.

Antoine Griezmann came on shortly after the hour and was soon celebrating with fellow substitute Yannick Carrasco who made it 3-0.

Celta pulled one back through Gabriel Viega Novas before an own-goal from Unai Nunez on 82 restored the three-goal gap.

"We took risks and it worked," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone. "If they (Celta) had many chances it's because we played it that way, you have to do that sometimes."

Sevilla won 3-2 away at Espanyol for their first victory of the season thanks to a double from Jose Angel Carmona and one goal from Erik Lamela, who also collected a late red card as the visitors hung on for three points.

Sevilla now go to Copenhagen for the Champions League in mixed spirits.

"At 3-0 we sat back after a good first half, but their goals were a reminder of recent failures," said coach Julen Lopetegui.

Rayo Vallecano beat Valencia 2-1 helped by an own goal from Nicolas Gonzalez. Mouctar Diakhaby scored a last gasp consolation for the visitors.

Updated: September 11, 2022, 5:16 AM