Barcelona are back to winning ways and are back on top of the La Liga table for at least 24 hours thanks to a dramatic 2-1 win againt Girona on Saturday’s Catalan derby at the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium.
Barça started well and took the lead before completely falling apart in the first half, but the Blaugrana never gave up and Ronald Araujo scored a 93rd minute winner to rescue all three points in a crucial victory for Hansi Flick and his troops.
FIRST HALF
Flick came out with a different lineup and formation as Barça started the game in a 4-3-3 with young Toni Fernández as a false nine, and the opening 15 minutes were the stuff of dreams: the Blaugrana looked awesome as the ball was popping, players were moving fast, and the spaces opened up easily as Girona scrambled to try and defend a very dynamic Barça side.
And the home team’s dominance was rewarded with a beautiful opening goal as Lamine Yamal found Pedri inside the box and The Wizard came up with a magical finish as he passed the ball into the net off the post with his left foot and caught the entire defense off-guard, and the Blaugrana had a deserved lead thanks to their best player.
Then, shockingly, Barça forgot to play and fell asleep completely and Girona were by far the better side for the rest of the half. They scored a spectacular equalizer thanks to a bicycle kick by Axel Witsel, and had four clear-cut chances to take the lead with players one-on-one with the goalkeeper and all alone inside the box, but Vladyslav Vanat shot straight at Wojciech Szczesny, Portu hit the post, Bryan Gil fired an easy shot over the bar, and Witsel fired wide from perfect shooting range inside the area.
Barça were extremely lucky not to be behind by multiple goals and had a couple of chances to find the net, but Paulo Gazzaniga made a great save to deny Frenkie de Jong and Marcus Rashford fired a rocket into the crossbar from a free-kick.
The Blaugrana went into the break very fortunate to still be in the game, and needed a lot of improvements to find the winning goals and not concede more in the second half.
SECOND HALF
Flick made a halftime substitution as Fermín López replaced Toni Fernández, and Fermín made an immediate impact on his return from injury with his energy and direct play, taking shots, making runs in the final third and pressing with hunger and intensity.
Fermín’s introduction was contagious to the team as whole, and Barça started playing better on the ball and limiting Girona’s counter-attacks. They almost took the lead after a corner when Pau Cubarsí fired it home, but the referee denied the goal due to a foul by Eric García in the buildup.
Barça almost took the lead again when a great bit of high pressing got them the ball back on the left wing, and the ball found Rashford who fired a rocket looking for the bottom corner, but Gazzaniga made a fantastic save. Flick took off both Pedri and Yamal at the hour mark even though Barça were chasing the game, which was a good sign as the coach prioritized his best players’ fitness and trusted the rest of the team to get the job done.
The Blaugrana dominated the ball but struggled to find spaces and create chances without their best players, however, and didn’t get help from the officiating either when Vitor Reis swung his arm and hit Rashford’s face inside the box but the referee did not give the penalty.
The score was still tied as we reached the final 10 minutes, so Flick made his fifth and final change as Araujo came on as a striker, the formation changed to a 4-2-4 and the strategy was to play as many crosses into the box as possible in the dying moments.
Barça were quickly running out of time and all hope seemed lost when Flick was sent off for protesting against the referee in the 90th minute, but there was still time for a late twist: Roony Bardghji found Frenkie de Jong with a through ball and the Dutchman’s low cross found Araujo who looked like a true striker and delicately found the bottom corner with a gorgeous finish to score the winner in the 93rd minute and send the entire stadium into a frenzy.
The final whistle came shortly after to end a dramatic and strange afternoon in which Barça should probably not have won based on how terrible their first half was, but the fighting spirit and never-say-die mentality of this squad would not allow them to lose.
The lvel of performance still needs a lot of improvement, but with all the injuries and problems surrounding this team right now, this could very well be a turning point for Barça in a very difficult moment. Well done, boys!
Barcelona: Szczesny; Kounde, Cubarsí, Eric, Balde (Martín 76’); De Jong, Casadó (Araujo 81’), Pedri (Christensen 63’); Yamal (Roony 63’), Toni (Fermín 46’), Rashford
Goals: Pedri (13’), Araujo (90+3’)
Girona: Gazzaniga; Rincón, Reis, Blind, Moreno; Gil (Solís 63’), Arnau (Lass 80’), Witsel, Mora (Asprilla 68’); Portu (Tsygankov 63’), Vanat (Stuani 68’)
Goals: Witsel (20’)
