Barcelona Fails, Real Madrid Parties as Champions

The season ended early for Barcelona after losing to Girona. Barca is also threatened with missing the Spanish Super Cup.

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Barcelona striker Lamine Yamal during the Spanish League match against Girona at Montilivi Stadium, on Saturday (4/5/2024). Barca lost 2-4, thus ensuring that Real Madrid became La Liga champions earlier.

GIRONA, SATURDAY — Having taken the lead in the first half, Barcelona in the end was unable to withstand the onslaught of the surprise team Spanish League this season, Girona, at the Montilivi Stadium, Saturday (4/5/2024). Barca were defeated with a striking score, 2-4, while accelerating the championship party Real Madrid. Barca suffered even more because this defeat made Girona take their position in second place in the standings.

Securing a victory over Girona is crucial for Barca in delaying Real's championship celebration, who in another match defeated Cadiz, a team at the bottom of the standings, 3-0. Hopes arose when Barca quickly took the lead through Andreas Christensen's goal just three minutes into the game. However, Barca's joy was short-lived as Artem Dovbyk soon equalized for Girona just 70 seconds later.

An open and attacking game was shown by both teams from the start as three points were a mandatory target. In addition to Barca needing three points to delay Real's title, Girona also needed a victory to pass Barca in the second place of the standings. Girona, who emerged as a surprise team this season, aims for the second place in the league standings to qualify for the Spanish Super Cup early next year.

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Barca coach Xavi Hernandez did not change the line-up much compared to when they won 4-2 over Valencia in the previous match. He only replaced Raphinha who plays on the left wing with Fermin Lopez.

Aside from Lopez, Barcelona's frontline is filled with Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal who are currently in their best form. By not changing last week's winning team arrangement, Xavi hopes that Barcelona could achieve positive results at Girona's home ground.

AP PHOTO/MANU FERNANDEZ

Supporters of Real Madrid celebrated their title as champions of the Spanish League in Cibeles Square, Madrid on Saturday (4/5/2024). The certainty of the championship was obtained after Barcelona lost 2-4 to Girona.

The decision to play Yamal and Lewandowski in this match proved to be correct. Yamal was the actor behind Barcelona's second goal. His movement on the right side forced Girona's defender, Miguel Gutierrez, to foul him. The referee pointed to the penalty spot and Lewandowski executed the penalty perfectly.

Barca's performance actually reached an anticlimax after the break. Girona coach Michel Sanchez analyzed that Barca's weakness was in the left wing defender who often left Joao Cancelo to help attack. Michel then strengthened Girona's right wing attack by bringing in Cristian Portu and Yan Couto.

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Portu and Couto are right wingers who have explosiveness in attack. The results of the substitution were felt immediately. After only a few seconds on the pitch, Portu immediately scored using Dovbyk's low pass. This goal was created by a mistake by Barca midfielder, Sergi Roberto, who was unable to escape Girona's pressure.

"I am angry. We were leading until the score was 2-2. We did well and it was my mistake. I apologize to everyone," said Roberto after the match.

Portu contributed to Girona's third goal, which was scored just a few seconds later. He exploited the space on the left side of Barca's defense and sent a pass to Gutierrez. Barcelona's players shook their heads in disbelief, as they could not believe their goal could be easily conceded in a matter of seconds.

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Girona striker Cristian Portugues is happy after scoring a goal against Barcelona in the Spanish League match, Saturday (4/5/2024).

Xavi could not do much to fill the gap on the left side of Barca's defense. He had no choice but to bring in a player with attacking instincts to overcome the deficit. His priority at that time was to score additional goals and win the match. However, this decision led to Barca suffering again from Portu, who scored his second goal or Girona's fourth goal.

Apart from Portu, Savinho is another Girona player who performed extraordinary. His ability to break up the opponent's pressing several times enabled the Girona players to win in Barca's defensive area. The Brazilian passport player was also the mastermind behind Girona's fourth goal.

Until the end of the match, Barca failed to score additional goals. They were defeated by Girona for the second time this season and handed over the Spanish League title to Real Madrid with still four matches left. The crushing defeat of 2-4 by Girona is ironic for Barca, who in the previous match had beaten Valencia by a similar score.

"They (Girona) scored two goals in two minutes due to our mistakes. Last season, we reduced individual mistakes, but this season we have multiplied them," said Xavi in the post-match press conference.

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Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo during the match against Girona in the Spanish League match, Saturday (4/5/2024).

With this negative result, Barca is at risk of losing everything at the end of the season. The "Blaugrana" have already been eliminated from the Spanish Cup, the European Champions League, and now they have lost the crown of the Spanish League.

The defeat to Girona further worsened the situation as it caused Barca to be displaced to third place. This means that Barca is at risk of not being able to participate in the Spanish Super Cup next year. If that becomes a reality, Barca will be absent from participating in the Spanish Super Cup for the first time since 2014. (AFP)