Barcelona must still manage league competitions without Robert Lewandowski. Instead of the striker, Xavi put 20-year-old Ansu Fati in the match against Girona.
Barcelona’s attack in the first minutes of the match did not work out the way the coach had dreamed. Although the visitors dominated the field, they were unable to translate it into concrete situations. Casteling was introduced in the 26th minute as Ousmane Dembele was substituted for Badri.
Until the end of the first half, the young midfielder of Catalonia Pride did not change the attack of his toothless club. Before going down to the locker room, it was hot on the field, despite the low air temperature in Spain. The players did not undo the mistakes, which led to the referee Alejandro Ruiz showing up to four yellow cards in five minutes.
To improve the offensive potential of the defensive sides, Jordi Alba came out in the second half of the match. The changes turned out to be successful. In the 61st minute, Alba played a breakthrough pass into the penalty area, and another substitute – Pedri – took advantage of the goalkeeper’s mistake.
Similarly, Alba attempted extra time in the 80th minute, but the dangerous situation was stopped by an offside position. The hosts continued to attack, hoping to make up for a modest loss and cause an upset. In the last moments, Ivan Martin missed a good chance by kicking from a few meters from the goal, which was defended by Marc-Andre ter Stegen. Despite a temporary spurt, they failed to score a single goal.
Interestingly, this is the third 1-0 win in the third match during Robert Lewandowski’s suspension. Blaugrana players maintain their leading position in LaLiga. They are six points ahead of the Real Madrid players who have played a game less.
Girona – Barcelona 0-1
Objectives: 61′ Pedro
Girona: Gazzaniga – Arnau Martinez, Juanpe (81′ Ivan Martin), Espinosa, Miguel Gutierrez, Oriol Romeo, Alex Garcia, Cotto (71′ Tony Villa), Yangel Herrera (59′ Valerie Fernandez), R. Riquelme (81′ Joel Roca) Castellanos (70′ Christian Stuani).
F.C.B: Ter Stegen – Kounde, Araujo, Eric Garcia, Marcos Alonso (Jordi Alba 46), De Jong, Busquets, Gavi, Raphinha (Franck Kessie 88), Ansu Fati (Alejandro Balde 81), Dembele (Pedri 26).
the judge: Alejandro Ruiz
Creation date: today 18:12
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