Barcelona continued their impressive run of La Liga form when they beat Girona 1-0 at Estadio Montilivi on Saturday night.
Substitute Pedri scored the only goal of the game to give the Catalan giants a huge three points.
Xavi’s men were not at their best, but the result leaves them six points clear of defending champions Real Madrid in the league table.
Barcelona had to manage without striker duo Robert Lewandowski and Ferran Torres, who were out due to suspension.
Clash of the Catalans
It was heralded that it would be a tough away clash for the Catalans as newly promoted Girona entered the game having lost just two of their last nine matches, sitting 12th in the league.
Barcelona started better than both teams dominating possession in the first twenty minutes before Girona established themselves in front of their home fans.
French winger Ousmane Dembele had to be substituted in the 26th minute when he limped off the field clutching his leg. Xavi hopes the injury isn’t too serious as Dembele has been in impressive form this season, with 5 goals and 5 assists.
Neither team was able to assert their authority in the game with the limited space and cold weather hardly helping the players to gain any kind of momentum. Barcelona, however, had a great chance to take the lead just before half time, but Girona goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga saved Pedri’s meek effort from inside the box.
breaking the deadlock
Fifteen minutes after the restart, Barcelona finally managed to break the tie after a wonderful interplay in the final third. Ansu Fati sent a ball to Jordi down the left wing, who sent it into the six-yard box with an attractive low cross.
Gazzaniga altered his lines in what should have been a routine hold and it was Pedri who scored into an empty net to give his side the lead.
Four minutes later, Girona had the ball in the net, but the goal was disallowed because Arnau Martínez had clearly gone into an offside position.
It was one-way traffic in the last 20 minutes as the home team built up the pressure in search of an equalizer.
The hosts would be disappointed that a penalty was not awarded as Barcelona defender Eric Garcia appeared to have his arm around Cristhian Stuani’s waist following a 73rd-minute corner.
Then Ivan Martin inexplicably missed from just six yards in the 86th minute as Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was pinned on the point. The Blaugrana notched their third successive 1-0 win and have now won seven of their last eight La Liga games keeping five clean sheets in the process.
Barcelona currently have 47 points after having played one game more than Real Madrid, who host third-placed Real Sociedad on Sunday night.
Photo credit: IMAGO / Pressinphoto
