Girona’s scorching football reached its climax with their qualification for the Champions League after a resounding victory against a distraught Barça, who to underline their sorrow advanced Madrid’s alirón, winner against Cádiz. The red and white has had a brilliant career in crescendo because it began by ensuring permanence, and then breaking the points record, later reaching Europe and now reaching the Champions League on an afternoon as memorable in Montilivi as it was in Montjuïc. Girona has scored up to eight goals against Barcelona. That mobile screenshot that portrayed Girona’s leadership at the time has been replaced by the 8-4 against Barça.
4
Gazzaniga, Miguel Gutierrez, David López (Portu, min. 64), Eric Garcia, Daley Blind, Sávio (Valery Fernández, min. 86), Aleix García, Iván Martín, Yangel Herrera, Tsygankov (Yan Couto, min. 64) and Dovbyk
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Ter Stegen, Pau Cubarsí, Cancelo, Koundé, Ronald Araújo, Sergi Roberto (Oriol Romeu, min. 79), A. Christensen (Pedri, min. 68), Gündogan, Lewandowski (Ferrán Torres, min. 79), Fermín López and Lamine Yamal
Goals 0-1 min. 3: A. Christensen. 1-1 min. 4: Dovbyk. 1-2 min. 46: Lewandowski. 2-2 min. 65: Portu. 3-2 min. 67: Miguel Gutierrez. 4-2 min. 74: Portu.
Referee Alejandro José Hernández Hernández
Yellow cards Koundé (min. 27), Ronald Araújo (min. 38) and Sergi Roberto (min. 42)
The same score in the first leg as in the second leg to underline Girona’s superiority over Barcelona. Although both will compete in the Champions League, right now, with four days left, Míchel’s team would compete in the Super Cup as runners-up. The fate of Barça is unknown because it is a vulnerable and depressive team that defeats the slightest adversity, a victim of its mistakes and easy prey for aggressive, passionate teams that brim with confidence and effectiveness like Girona. Barça has handed over the crown to Madrid and the flag of the game to a team that lives in the so-called Michel dimension: a way of playing and experiencing football as has not been seen in the League for a long time.
Girona knew how to live even when Barça dressed as Girona. The match began with a tie at one, two goals in one minute, to the astonishment of the festive and feverish Montilivi. Many Barça fans mixed friendly with a crowd of red and white fans who were no longer going to watch Barça play but to celebrate Girona’s victory. The rivalry was taken for granted on the field after the 4-2 draw in Montjuïc. The memory of that defeat and the moment of form of the two contenders conditioned Xavi’s lineup. The coach got it right in the staging when he sacrificed a third forward -Raphinha- to bring on a fourth midfielder -Sergi Roberto-, a formula that usually balances Barça.
The captain guarantees a good reading of the game and better control of the match, two aspects that the Blaugrana often forget and that have penalized some of their games, especially in Montjuïc. Barcelona needed to be more consistent, adjust the pressure on someone else’s court and have the ball to face a tough rival like Girona. For a long time, the red and white team became spectators of the harmonious and intense display of Barça. The arrivals and shots followed one another against Gazzanigga before and after Dovbyk’s goal. The striker anticipated Cubarsí and headed a center from Iván Martín, precise in the cut-back to Araujo, in the midst of Barcelona’s sustained attack.
Defensive weakness and lack of aim penalized the Blaugrana from the 0-1 lead by Christensen, splendid in the control with his chest, the turn and the cross shot against Gazzanigga. The Dane got off easily, Gündogan and Fermín struck and Lamine Yamal overwhelmed. Barça pressed and Girona closed in, hard on defense and poisonous on the counterattack every time Savinho faced Koundé. The Brazilian’s imbalance in the face-to-face with the Frenchman upset the backline of a dynamic and agile Barça in the midfield and fluid in its football, persevering in attack until Miguel knocked down Lamine Yamal and the referee gave a penalty after the intervention. of the VAR. Lewandowski converted the penalty: 1-2.
The red and white team, who also know how to play with the score against them, woke up at the end of the break and indulged in an exchange of blows with Savinho and Lamine Yamal. Possession was distributed more due to the Barcelona players losing the ball until they put pressure again and stole the ball from Girona. Míchel had to refresh the team and the changes had an immediate effect because Portu, enabled by Dovbyk, penalized a serious error by Sergi Roberto and immediately assisted Miguel to sign the transfer in the blink of an eye to the stupor of Barça . The coach had a saint’s hand because Portu culminated his sovereign performance with an extraordinary goal to close the game and the score: 4-2. The striker hit a cross volley after a cross from Savinho and caused Montilivi to explode (14,090 spectators). A 10-minute storm had struck down a mentally fragile Barcelona after an unforced error by Sergi Roberto. The story of each matchday at Barça and also the summary of Girona’s many matches.
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