Girona 2-1 Barcelona, La Liga: Recap

"Barcelona will finish Matchday 24 in second place in the La Liga table and two points behind the leaders thanks to a painful 2-1 defeat in the Catalan derby away to Girona at Montilivi on Monday night. After dominating the first half and failing to convert several giant chances, the Blaugrana fell apart in the second half despite taking the lead and conceded a controversial late goal to drop all three points on the road."

"Barça played a really good first half, dominating the ball and creating excellent offense throughout the period. They had huge chances of all types, but the finishing just let them down. Raphinha missed a major opportunity inside the box and later hit the post, and Lamine Yamal wasted a clear one-on-one before missing the biggest chance of the half when he hit the post from the penalty spot."

"The visitors were also really good tactically: the offside trap worked, Flick made subtle but important tweaks that improved the defensive structure (like having both full-backs stay back and choose their moments to attack and playing Dani Olmo as a true pivot alongside Frenkie de Jong), and the Blaugrana were better than Girona in every aspect of the game. But the finishing was a major issue, and the game was somehow goalless at the break even though Barça should have been up by at least three goals."

Barcelona dominated the first half at Montilivi, controlling possession and creating numerous clear scoring opportunities. Raphinha missed a big chance and hit the post; Lamine Yamal also wasted a one-on-one and later struck the post from the penalty spot. Tactical tweaks by Flick, including a functioning offside trap, conservative full-back positioning and Dani Olmo as a pivot alongside Frenkie de Jong, improved defensive structure. The visitors finally scored in the second half through a Pau Cubarsí header, but Thomas Lemar equalized two minutes later. Girona then seized control, mounting a dominant spell and producing several big chances. A controversial late goal condemned Barcelona to a 2-1 defeat, leaving them two points behind the leaders.

Read at Barca Blaugranes