Barcelona opened a lead of three points at the head of the La Liga on Sunday afternoon after hit the Catalan rival Girona 4-1.
Barca took her defeats against Michel’s team last season by scoring four past Girona in two victories this season. While the visitors compensated at the beginning of the second half, they fought to gain a foothold in the process because the red hosts dominated.
Hansi Flick’s team reacted to Real Madrid’s 3-2 victory against Leganes on Saturday before the second leg of her Copa del Rey semi-final against Atleti a week.
How the game unfolds
Flick turned again on Sunday afternoon before the victory on Thursday against Osasuna, whereby Barcelona’s discouraging April time plan requires the extremities of the German squad.
Barca’s goal was the return of her three -point advantage at the head of the La Liga, with the regional neighbors Girona being present, and the hosts began the competition with the intention of completing things early.
After trying Viktor Tsygankov around the visitors, Lamine Yamal was the heart of the best moments of Barca in the opening exchanges that did not score a goal. Robert Lewandowski and Yamal saved both efforts by Paulo Gazzaniga before the Argentine goalkeeper made an excellent stop to prevent Ronald Araujo’s header from giving Barcelona the lead.
The hosts dominated a side that is not used to without playing the ball. Girona’s average ownership is third in La Liga this season in La Liga, but they were limited to only 29% of the ball during the opening time. Despite their territorial inferiority, visitors have defensively, but Barcas print finally told at the end of the opening time when Ladislav Krejci Yamals free kicked free kick through a helper Gazzaniga.
A procession was expected after the restart, but Girona made sure that Barca had to work for all three points. A rare urgent sequence from the visitors led to their unlikely equalization, with Arnaut Danjuma ending well after the reservations of Daley Blinds Pinpoint pass.
However, it didn’t take long for Barcelona to recapture the lead. Her previously resting left side appeared at the hour, with Gavis Kreuz for Fermin Lopez led to a moment of the ingenious poaching of Lewandowski, who converted acrobatically up close.
Girona’s best period of the competition came to Barca’s second goal when they were able to access Miguel Gutierrez and Danjuma behind an aggressive defensive line. However, a masterful pressure of the pressure of Frenkie de Jong in midfield ended the competition. The Dutch pushed forward and teed Lewandowski to his second.
As a result, the hosts refused to rest on their laurels, and they were restless in their search to score late. The replacement Ferran Torres added a fourth, while Yamal and Alejandro Balde almost scored a fifth.
Take a look at the player reviews of Barcelona 4-1 Girona.
Before the break, Robert Lewandowski proved against Atletico Madrid that he himself only needs a courtyard in his Twilight years.
The striker was excellent this season after a decline in Xavis last year, with the veteran performing a decisive focus function that enabled Raphinha to thrive. Lewandowski, however, remains Barca’s main goal and reacted to Kylian Mbappes clamp on Saturday by scoring two goals here.
He hadn’t seen too much of Gazzaniga’s goal before finding the back of the network with the most urgent surfaces up close to defeat Girona’s number one. The second of the pole owed de Jong’s brilliance in the middle of the park a lot, but his strike was still emphatic.
His 24th and 25th goals of the La Liga season means Lewandowski’s advantage over Mbappe in the race around the Pichichi trophy remains three. The difference is not unassailable, but the Frenchman has to do work to prevent Lewandowski from becoming the 18th Multi-Zeit-Pichichi winner.
Barcelona was one of the most observable teams in Europe this season. The hosts undoubtedly had moments on Sunday in a masterful cohesion, and Yamal weaved his wand to the right.
In the absence of Raphinha and Alejandro Balde in the left flank, Barca were almost too dependent on the teenager. A large part of her work focused on the rights, with Jules Counds of full -back over the left side of Girona. While the couple worked extremely well and Yamal was so difficult to stop one to one, the absence of a left flank meant that Barca was not quite as scent against her Catalan neighbors.
Gerard Martin turned away for Balde, but never looked safe and hesitated to get up on the field in the opening time. Since Gavi drifted to the left to work together with Fermin Lopez between the lines, Barca urgently needed Martin to act as an auxiliary wing player, but the young defender seemed to be an amazing downgrading to Balde before he grows into the competition during his last stages.
Despite their problems, it was the left flankers who joined together to create the chance that led to Barca’s second destination. An improvement was improved in the second half, with Ferran Torres giving a larger balance in the last third.
While Pedri was a constant in the middle of the park for Barcelona this season, there was a constant rotational current next to him. Marc Casado, a graduate of La Masia, was the star of the first half of 2024/25, but Frenkie de Jong rediscovered its best form in the new year.
The season in Casado is over because an ACL tear was suffered before the international break, while de Jong was rested on Sunday. Pedri stayed in the XI, but he was worked together by Eric Garcia.
This was only his eighth start of the season of La Liga – most of them arrived in midfield. After he had broken out as a central defender in Manchester City and impressed in Michel’s defense last season, it now seems that Garcia’s future is in a more advanced position, certainly in Barcelona.
It is as steady as they come, but the Spaniard is a noticeably intelligent footballer who is aware of his limits. He is more than ready to let the more talented stars thrive around him, and that was exactly what Garcia was excellent on Sunday. Garcia stationed in midfield and played a key role to ensure that Barcelona consistently had pressure.
Barca’s back pressure was excellent, but Garcia’s clever positioning and ability to win duels did not allow Girona break. This was his 100th excursion in Blaugrana colors, and it could have been one of his best performances.