Koeman, Frenkie de Jong sent off as Barca stumble to Cadiz draw

Barcelona's troubled season continued on Thursday after they were held to a 0-0 draw with Cadiz at the Nuevo Mirandilla. Under pressure boss Ronald Koeman was sent off for dissent towards the end of the drab draw, with Barcelona finishing with 10 men after Frenkie de Jong also saw red.

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Koeman came into the game under pressure after a stuttering start to the season, with Barca president Joan Laporta saying on Thursday that he supported the Dutch coach while adding that results needed to improve or action would be taken. But more questions over Koeman's future will be asked following another disappointing night.

Unfortunately for Koeman and Barca, a lacklustre first half saw the Catalans fashion few legitimate chances despite dominating possession before going into the dressing room locked in a goalless draw.

Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was called into action just after the restart, diving high and to his right to parry away a deft, outside-of-the-foot shot from Alvaro Negredo.

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Memphis Depay saw a good chance saved by Cadiz keeper Jeremias Ledesma soon after, his well-struck, left-footed shot blocked by the goalie as it was headed for the back of the net.

Midfielder Sergi Roberto, who came on at half-time for Yusuf Demir, issued a rallying cry to his teammates after the match, and maintained Barca were good enough to battle for the title.

"Here we have to try and win LaLiga. This notion of it's ok to finish in the top four doesn't work for me," Roberto said.

"We need to fight for the league. The squad is very good, and we have some injuries but that's not an excuse.

"We've got a squad who can fight for the LaLiga title and I don't think other sides have better squads than us."

Frenkie de Jong was shown a pair of yellow cards inside of five minutes after the hour for two clumsy tackles, with the Netherlands international forced to leave the pitch and leave Barca to finish the match with 10 men.

Memphis had a bad miss in second-half stoppage time, firing wide of the far post after being played in by Gerard Pique with no one to beat but the keeper.

Koeman was then sent off in the dying minutes with a straight red card for dissent.

"All I said to the fourth official was that there were two balls on the pitch," Koeman said. "They send you off for nothing in this country. I asked the referee in a calm manner, but let's leave it as it's not my problem."

Barcelona, who needed an injury time equaliser from Ronald Araujo to draw 1-1 against Granada on Monday, are seventh in LaLiga with nine points, albeit with a game in hand over most of the teams above them.