Xavi Hernandez deployed a significantly rotated Barcelona XI in the La Liga clash against Cadiz last night. Most of the fringe players were given a chance in this game, and Sergi Roberto was the one who made the most of this opportunity offered to him.
The game against Cadiz came in a difficult time for La Blaugrana. The team had been coming from a 2-2 draw at the Camp Nou in the Europa League play-off first leg against Manchester United and were missing a number of key players. Ousmane Dembele, Ronald Araujo, and Pedri were all sidelined, which forced Xavi to put up a heavily rotated side in the match.
This lineup featured a number of fringe players like Eric Garcia, Sergi Roberto, Ferran Torres, as well as Ansu Fati who also has seen chances coming slow in the last few matches.
From among these players, Sergi Roberto was the most conspicuous in this match, while Ferran Torres also had a memorable game. Roberto opened the scoring from a Ferran pass to Lewandowski, which was blocked at the line by a defender, and fell to the experienced Roberto, who made no mistake and finished the chance.
This goal was the cherry on top of a game that he played well overall, and thus provided Xavi with cause for much optimism at a time when his midfield has thinned due to injuries.
This performance is also expected to repair the relationship of Roberto with the Barcelona fans to some extent. Xavi also described the criticism aimed at the player as unfair and praised the veteran, especially for his commitment and attitude. Thus, a contract extension might not be entirely out of question for the midfielder and could materialize before the end of the season.
