Spain: Girona look the real deal

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Barcelona 2-4 Girona

Barcelona finished the weekend in fourth place in the La Liga table and are now seven points off the top thanks to a painful 4-2 loss.

Throughout this match, Girona dominated and made a statement about their title credentials as they convincingly won this Catalan derby. 

Highlights

Check out the highlights from the match in the video below. FC BARCELONA 2 vs 4 GIRONA | LALIGA 2023/24 MD16 (youtube.com)

The opening 45 minutes were just as wild and entertaining as any neutral could hope for, with both teams playing really well with the ball and taking big risks in possession that left them extremely vulnerable at the back.

The home side started as the better side and could have taken the lead within the first 10 minutes. However, one bad pass in midfield allowed Girona to counter-attack and Viktor Tsigankov gave Artem Dovbyk an easy tap-in to put the visitors in front. 

The 2023 La Liga winners answered quickly after a great corner taken by Raphinha found Robert Lewandowski in the box and the striker headed home the equalizer.

The following 20 minutes were truly crazy, with both teams trading punches and allowing each other huge chances. Both sets of goalkeepers and centre-backs had to make last-ditch interventions, and it was truly remarkable that no other goals were scored by either side as we approached halftime.

With five minutes to go before the break, there was a huge moment in the match: after a wonderful passing sequence through the middle by Girona, the ball found Miguel Gutiérrez in a great position and the left-back fired a beautiful strike into the top corner to give the visitors their second lead on the night.

Barça almost equalised again but Paulo Gazzaniga made another big save against Lewandowski, and the halftime whistle came to an end 45 of the most entertaining minutes in any football match around Europe this season. Is this best league in the world at the moment? As we'll explore further down the article, it promises to be an exciting title race. 

Click here to find more news and stories from across Spain.

What happened towards the end of the match?

The game slowed down a bit in the opening minutes of the second half.

Barça had more of the ball while Girona tried to defend deeper to protect their lead in the first 15-20 minutes before opening up again, and their plan worked as Barça never created a true chance while the visitors remained a threat on the counter.

With good passing and movement, Girona began taking risks again, sending bodies forward and finding spaces inside the Barca defence. They were the better team as the match reached the final 20 minutes, even with Xavi Hernández making a triple change that saw Ferran Torres, Lamine Yamal and Alejandro Balde come on but did not have any real impact in the game.

European Super Football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com)

And with 10 minutes to go came the knockout blow: Cristhian Stuani won the initial header after a long ball from Gazzaniga, and Valery Fernández got to the ball before Jules Kounde and passed it into the bottom corner to double Girona’s lead and essentially seal the deal.

Barça naturally sent everyone forward in a desperate attempt to get back in the game, and Ilkay Gündogan scored deep into stoppage time to give Barça some hope of a very late equalizer. They had a golden chance to do so when a perfect cross by Yamal found Lewandowski all alone to head it home, but the ball hit the Pole’s shoulder instead and Barça’s best finisher missed their best opportunity to perform a miracle.

And the hopes of a comeback were finally ended by a fourth Girona goal as Sávio’s cross found Stuani alone at the far post. The substitute found the back of the net to seal the victory for Girona.

It was a painful night for Barça, who played well during different points of the match and created enough chances to score more goals. But they didn’t. This season's La Liga title race could prove to be very entertaining. 

The rise of Girona! Can they win La Liga? We'll have all the latest news and stories here.

Best social media reaction

Fabrizio Romano posted on X (the website that used to be known as Twitter): " Girona go on top of La Liga with 38 goals scored, 20 conceded and 4-2 win against Barcelona tonight. Incredible job by Michel, his players and the board."

B/R Football posted on the same platform: "Girona take down Barcelona 4-2 and go top of La Liga. New kings of Catalonia!"

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