FC Barcelona 4-1 Girona: A resounding victory with a champion's flavor in the fight for LaLiga

All roads lead to FC Barcelona for the title of LaLiga EA Sports 2024-25... against all odds. The Catalan team returned to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to face Girona on matchday 29 of the competition and, in a true display of personality and good football, despite the controversial refereeing decisions, the culés achieved a victory that colors the championship blue and claret (4-1), as this triumph allows them to pull away again at the top of the standings (66), surpassing Real Madrid (63) and Atlético de Madrid (57).

The team led by Hansi Flick dominated the match from the very first second, and in the 43rd minute, they took the lead with an own goal by Krejci. Although the visitors equalized the score in the 52nd minute thanks to Danjuma, a brace from Lewandowski and another goal from Ferran Torres in the last 30 minutes sealed the well-deserved victory for the blaugranas, who continue to take firm steps towards their 28th LaLiga title.

Lamine Yamal led Barça in the first half

There was only one team on the pitch at Montjuïc. The Girona barely put up any resistance against a determined Barça eager to take all three points from the referee's initial whistle, led by the magnificent Lamine Yamal, cornering the albirrojos in their own half and not giving them a single space in their few attacking attempts.

Fermín López emerged as the surprise 'arriver' for the Catalans in the early minutes of the match, threatening Gazzaniga's goal on two occasions, although his shots were blocked. Tsygankov, on the other hand, gave the culés their only scare in the 6th minute after a dangerous lateral cross from Asprilla, but his first-time shot went well over Szczesny's goal.

From that moment on, the blaugranas' dominance was absolute, and controversy was present in the Catalan capital. After the visiting goalkeeper repelled a close-range shot from Lewandowski, Fermín fell at the edge of the area due to a foul by the Colombian from Girona, and although the referee initially called the foul, after VAR intervention, it was incomprehensibly determined that it was the azulgrana '16' who committed a foul in attack.

The Catalans continued to test the Girona goalkeeper, and both Lamine and Ronald Araujo came close to scoring the first goal of the night, forcing the Argentine keeper to make two outstanding saves to prevent his goal from falling. Later, in the 38th minute, Jules Koundé put the culés ahead, but his goal was disallowed for a very tight offside.

However, in the 43rd minute, Barça managed to open the scoring once again, thanks to Yamal. The star from Mataró sent a tight cross-shot from the right side of the area that, after deflecting off Krejci, slipped into Gazzaniga's goal. The '19' delivered it with finesse, and the Czech defender, despite not wanting to, ended up distracting the South American with a touch that hit his hand, sending both teams to the locker rooms with a deserved partial lead for the locals.

The double standard of LaLiga once again harmed Barça

The match between FC Barcelona and Girona was marred by another controversial refereeing decision detrimental to the azulgrana team. After the farce by González Fuertes and Melero López in the Real Madrid-Leganés (3-2), it was the turn of the duo formed by Pulido Santana and Figueroa Vázquez. It only took 11 minutes for the referees to tilt the balance in favor of Madrid's interests with an incomprehensible decision.

The winger Yáser Asprilla cut off a clear chance from Fermín López with a foul using his left foot, bringing down the onublense right on the edge of the penalty area. The main referee Pulido Santana called a foul at the edge of the area, but VAR alerted that it was a play inside the penalty box. Figueroa Vázquez called the Canary referee, but incomprehensibly annulled the foul after reviewing the play on the monitor.

The most unusual aspect of Figueroa Vázquez's decision was that, instead of allowing the game to continue, he sanctioned Fermín for simulation, which meant the game resumed with an indirect free kick in favor of Girona. The onublense's reaction could not have been more eloquent: "My goodness!..., said the midfielder in front of the cameras of the international broadcast. Well, nothing, another controversy for a league as adulterated as few.

Barça achieved a championship victory against Girona

Upon returning from the break, both teams maintained the trend of the first 45 minutes. Barça came out to bite, and shortly after the restart, Fermín López threatened to increase the culés' lead with a shot that missed the target.

However, the team led by Míchel made a surprise equalizer in the 52nd minute. Lewandowski was unable to pass the ball in the three-quarters line, and Daley Blind snatched the ball from him, sending a deep ball to Danjuma who, after facing Szczesny alone, leveled the score with a good finish to the far post.

Far from being affected by this goal, the team led by Hansi Flick showed character and quality, and just ten minutes later, in the 62nd minute, Gavi sent a cross into the area to the head of Fermín, who flicked it on at the far post to find Lewandowski. The Pole took advantage of the doubt between Krejci and Gazzaniga and, with an acrobatic finish, put his team back in front.

From this point on, the match broke in favor of the Catalans, and in the 76th minute, Frenkie de Jong made a spectacular run from his own half to the Girona area, assisting 'Lewy' so he could strike and send a great shot to the far post to celebrate his brace. Finally, Ferran Torres sent a spectacular left-footed shot into the back of the albirroja net in the 86th minute to seal the victory for the culés, who remain at the top of the LaLiga standings against all odds.

Barça remains the sole leader of LaLiga

Barcelona arrived at this Sunday’s match with the obligation to secure all three points to pull away at the top of the LaLiga EA Sports 2024/25 table. After their historic robbery against Leganés, Real Madrid (63) shared the lead with the azulgranas, while Atlético de Madrid (57) practically said goodbye to the title race after 'dropping points' against Espanyol (1-1).

For this reason, a victory against Girona was a key step towards the championship, and capitalizing on their excellent form, Hansi Flick's team regained the solo lead in the competition. The team is going through a sweet moment and has been on a remarkable run of results since the start of the year, remaining unbeaten and accumulating 28 points out of 30 with 9 wins and 1 draw, surpassing the rojiblancos (57) and the madridistas (60) in the table.

In this way, Barça makes another statement and remains firm on the 'throne' of the local competition. The azulgranas are 'unstoppable' this 2025 and, in addition to not knowing defeat, it feels like, as of today, there is no rival that can stop them, as demonstrated this Thursday in Montjuïc, where they took a key step towards their twenty-eighth title of LaLiga.  

Technical sheet of the match:    

• FC Barcelona, 4: Szczesny (P); Koundé, Araujo, Íñigo Martínez (Cubarsí, min. 81), Gerard Martín; Eric García (Balde, min. 81), Pedri (Pablo Torre, min. 87), Gavi (De Jong, min. 66); Lamine Yamal, Fermín López (Ferran Torres, min. 67), Lewandowski.
• Girona, 1: Gazzaniga; Francés, Krejci, Blind, Miguel Gutiérrez; Arnau (Misehouy, min. 80), Herrera, Arthur (Solís, min. 71), Danjuma; Tsygankov (Stuani, min. 71), Asprilla (Portu, min. 59).
• Goals: 1-0 Krejci (min. 43, O.G.); 1-1 Danjuma (min. 52); 2-1 Robert Lewandowski (min. 61); 3-1 Robert Lewandowski (min. 77); 4-1 Ferran Torres (min. 86).
• Referee: Pulido Santana. He cautioned Girona's Herrera.