Barcelona suffered a second straight defeat as they lost 2-1 against Girona in La Liga at Estadi Montilivi last night.
Having been proclaimed as the Spanish kings of comebacks over the past year, they were handed a taste of their own medicine as the hosts overturned a 1-0 deficit to go 2-1 up and seal a special win on the night.
The result comes as a devastating blow to the Catalans’ plans and hopes in the Spanish league, for it sees them fail to overtake Real Madrid in the standings and hand their rivals the advantage once more.
Barça Universal brings you three takeaways from Girona 2-1 Barcelona.
Too easy to beat
The last time Barcelona lost two games in a row was back at the beginning of October when they dropped three points against PSG and Sevilla in back-to-back games. They have now repeated that streak, but under far more unforgiving circumstances.
After the 4-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey semifinal first leg, it was expected that the Catalans would come out all guns firing and make a statement of intent.
After all, there is barely any time before they take to the field for the decisive second leg, where they must score at least five goals.
What they did last night against Girona, however, was shambolic, once again raising serious questions as to whether the system has taken an irreversible toll on the players’ fitness.
Barcelona were simply not up for the challenge at Estadi Montilivi last night. While they did create better chances in the first half, they were wasteful with them with Lamine Yamal missing a 1v1 and a penalty.
After the break, however, they simply succumbed to Girona’s counters and were too easy to break down.
Despite taking the lead, they were easily broken down by the hosts’ attack with a smart sequence of play and had no answers for the low cross-field ball. Once again, they conceded within minutes after taking the lead in what has become a recurring theme.
Then, they failed to push and create attacking chances of their own and were outshone by Girona’s inspired attacking forays. The hosts created an xG of 1.79 in the second half, more than double that of Barcelona, and were the deserved winners.
The game once again raised serious questions about the defensive line, which has become more exposed than ever before in recent weeks, and whether it is a sustainable model moving forward or not.
Refereeing in the spotlight again
Refereeing controversy once again. (Photo by Judit Cartiel/Getty Images)
Barcelona may indeed have spurned the penalty given to them on the night, but the game again raised questions about the refereeing in what has become a constant feature of Barcelona games of late.
Hansi Flick was openly critical of the officiating against Atletico Madrid, and it has been known for a while that the Catalans have often been at the receiving end of questionable refereeing calls in recent games.
Last night, there were once again two clear-cut instances of refereeing misjudgement that cost Barcelona heavily, especially considering they both came at pivotal moments in the game.
For starters, Girona’s defender made their way into the box before Yamal’s penalty kick, which ended up in a miss, an action that should have led to a prompt repeat penalty. Yet, the referee did not blink an eye at the clear error.
The second, and more blatant error, came during the time of Girona’s winner late in the game. During the buildup to that goal, Jules Kounde was clearly fouled and had his foot stepped on, which provides clear grounds for the goal to be disallowed.
At a time when the VAR can spend eight minutes to check a minuscule offside on a Barcelona goal, it is appalling that not a few seconds could be spared to review a clear-cut error.
Time for a serious reset
Barcelona’s performance last night, and over the past two games as a whole, has been embarrassing, and there is a real need for the players and the manager to head back into the dressing room to reflect on the same.
Every aspect of the team’s game, which has been praised in recent times, has been falling short of the team’s usual standards – and it is high time the matter is addressed.
At the point in the season where the team should be peaking in terms of their form and level, Barcelona seem to be taking steps backwards.
The press has been incoherent, the team have appeared lazy on the field with no purpose or intent to track back.
The games are no longer being controlled in midfield like they should be, with opponents being given more space than ever before. More importantly, the attack seems more restricted with players out of sync and simply unable to take their chances.
The UCL knockouts are just around the corner, and the Copa del Rey will need a superhuman effort to get back into. Barcelona have also given up the lead in La Liga back to Real Madrid and are on the back foot in all competitions all of a sudden.
There is, thus, a real need to get back into the thick of things and work out a new plan.