Barcelona 4-1 Girona: Match review | OneFootball

Yet another win for FC Barcelona is sealed as the team wins in the Catalan derby against Girona. A much-anticipated clash, it provides a result that now puts La Blaugrana 3 points clear at the top of the La Liga table. Fortunately for Barcelona, this is exactly the kind of momentum they needed.

Having fielded a noticeably rotated starting eleven for this game, it was clear for everyone to see that Hansi Flick had enough faith in his players to see out a positive result here. Ultimately, that is exactly what they ended up doing for Barcelona.

Throughout the game, from start to finish, Barcelona was the team in control and the side that was dominating proceedings. In terms of possession, the home side was clearly superior as they had 69% of the possession while Girona only had 31% of it.

Moreover, in terms of chances created and scoring opportunities, Barcelona were once again the superior team. With 21 total shots attempted, 9 of which were on target, La Blaugrana generated an impressive 2.63 xG in this game compared to the 0.49 generated by their opponents.

Girona had only two shots on target this game, but they did manage to convert one of those. Barcelona, on the other hand, scored four goals during this game and it was thanks to the collective efforts of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski, and Ferran Torres.

The first goal came courtesy of a deflection that saw a Lamine Yamal freekick hit the hand of a Girona defender and bounce into the back of the net as an own goal. In the second half, Robert Lewandowski added another goal to Barça’s tally by pulling off a rather remarkably acrobatic shot that saw the ball slip past the Girona goalkeeper’s legs.

Not too long after that, Lewandowski grabbed himself another goal. This time around, the credit for the build-up goes entirety to Frenkie de Jong, who basically set it up on a plate for Lewandowski, and the Polish ace made no mistake in setting himself up just about right before slotting the ball in. In many ways, this game was a clear display of just how impactful the veteran centre-forward can be when he is at his best.

Lastly, substitute Ferran Torres also managed to grab himself a goal by receiving a pass from Gerard Martin and then making a brilliant touch before striking the ball with his weaker foot into the back of the net. With that goal, Barcelona had well and truly guaranteed themselves all three points.

Currently, Barcelona sit at the top of the La Liga table now with a three point advantage over second-placed Real Madrid. Moreover, with yet another dominant display that is reflected on the score-line, Barça now have a goal difference of +54 in La Liga, with 82 goals scored and 28 conceded.