In a key match in the 16th round of La Liga, the third-ranked Barcelona team faced the second-ranked dark horse Girona. The match, played at the home of Barcelona and coincided with Real Madrid's failure to emerge victorious in this round of fixtures, gave Girona a great chance to climb to the top of the table.
After a series of preparations, Girona are in fine form against Barcelona, who have won two consecutive matches in all competitions and are unbeaten in nine consecutive matches. In contrast, despite having won two in a row in their previous matches and are unbeaten in four games in a row, Girona seem to be on the rise.
Although Barcelona maintain the advantage over Girona in terms of the all-time head-to-head record, Girona's explosiveness this season has forced people to reassess the scales of this matchup. In fact, more than half of the fans are still optimistic that Barcelona can beat Girona and take the crucial three points in this home matchup.
Barcelona will feature a number of quality players, including Gundogan and Joao Cancelo, as well as striker Robert Lewandowski. Girona, on the other hand, fielded a strong squad that included Ivan Martin and Tsigankov. Shortly after the start of the game, it was Zigankov's delicate pass that set up Dovbik to give Girona the lead in the 13th minute.
But Barcelona didn't give up and in the 20th minute Lewandowski equalised for the team through Raphinha's pass. Although Barcelona equalised at one point, Girona scored the winner again in the 41st minute thanks to an assist from Martin and Miguel.
Later in the second half, Girona took advantage of Stuani's assist and Valeri doubled the lead in the 81st minute. Towards the end of the game, Barcelona pulled a goal back through Gundogan, but a late assist from Stuani allowed Savio to score again for Girona and seal the win.
Girona have not only won two in a row in the league, but also made it three in a row in all competitions and are on a 10-match unbeaten run. On the other hand, Barcelona's two-game winning streak and unbeaten record have come to an end.
In the league standings, Girona overtook Real Madrid with 41 points and sat at the top of the table. This result undoubtedly brought a lot of pressure to Real Madrid, and it is certain that Real Madrid must have had an indescribable fear in their hearts after witnessing the result of such a match.