Three talking points from Barcelona’s win over Cadiz

With Real Madrid winning the day before, Barcelona needed to respond in kind to restore their eight point lead over their bitter rivals in the league table.

First half goals from Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski sealed the win for the Catalan side over Cadiz on Sunday.

Here are three talking points from the match.

Ferran Torres the bright spot for the Barcelona attack

With Pedri out and Xavi not willing to risk Sergio Busquets, Barcelona returned to a 4-3-3 formation. Ansu Fati and Ferran Torres accompanied Lewandowski in the front three. Torres, in particular, had an outstanding game.

Torres looked lively and constantly went at the Cadiz defenders, getting the best of them on several occasions until one of his take-ons led to Sergi Roberto’s opener. As he put it after the game, it was probably his best performance since arriving from Manchester City.

“It’s clear that there has been a period in which I have not had many minutes and it’s difficult to show everything you want. Today, both the team and I were very good,” Torres said.

Again, with Gavi and Pedri set to miss the second leg of the Europa League match against Manchester United, Xavi could opt for a return to the traditional formation, meaning Torres has put himself in the running to fill out the attack with Lewandowski and Raphinha.

At the very least, getting his confidence back is nothing but a positive for Torres and Barcelona as they head into an important stretch of the season with not only LaLiga but the Copa del Rey semifinals against Real Madrid.

Lewandowski back on the scoresheet

It has been a tough couple of games for Lewandowski who has been mired in a scoring drought. Fortunately for Barcelona, others have picked up his slack. But getting the Polish striker back in form is a priority and they were able to do just that against Cadiz.

Lewandowski was a bit unlucky as he could have had a brace had his initial attempt in Barcelona’s first goal not been cleared off the line. His goal, however, demonstrated that he does not need much space or time to make something out of nothing and could score out of nowhere.

To his credit, if his struggles are affecting him, he hasn’t showed it on the pitch. He is still very much involved in the attack even if it’s not showing up on the stat sheet. Sometimes all a struggling striker needs is one goal before embarking on a streak. Barcelona hope this is simply the start  of that run.

Pablo Torre’s future at Barcelona may be in doubt.

With the notable absences in midfield, many assumed this was the perfect opportunity for Pablo Torre to get some much needed playing time. Especially with Pedri expected to miss at least a month.

Up by a pair after the half, it seemed like only a matter of time before he was brought on. He started warming up with about 15 minutes left to go in the game but, ultimately, remained on the bench.

Angel Alarcon, another Barça youth product, warmed up after him and ended up making his league debut at the Camp Nou.

The fact he stayed on the bench should be a warning sign for Torre’s future at Barcelona. If he is not trusted to play against the 17th placed in the league, up by two goals, when is he going to be trusted?

Sergi Roberto had a good game so perhaps that had something to do with it. Torre is unlikely to feature against Manchester United unless two more midfielders get hurt. His next opportunity could come next weekend when they travel to take on Almeria.

However, all things considered, he is likely headed for a loan move come next season.