FC Barcelona suffer a heavy defeat to Girona with a scoreline of 4-2. The Catalan giants were outplayed by their visiting Catalan neighbors at the Montjuic Stadium. Ultimately, the result spells catastrophe for Barcelona and some major steps will need to be taken.
Individually, the players mostly did not do well enough to deserve a win against Girona. A thorough self-check and assessment is beckoning, and Xavi’s Barcelona have to ensure that a turning point is reached.
Here is how the Barcelona players fared against Girona:
Player Ratings:
Inaki Pena: 6.5
The Spanish goalkeeper was more or less decent throughout the game. However, despite his efforts, he could not contain Girona from scoring four goals past Barcelona in a rather embarrassing result.
Joao Cancelo: 7.0
Often times was able to create something through individual brilliance, but ultimately could not do much else. His flank was almost always left vacant for Girona to exploit and this led to several situations where Ronald Araujo would be left isolated.
Ronald Araujo: 6.5
The Uruguayan did his best to help Barcelona out whenever possible. However, his efforts were ultimately in vain as he would often get outnumbered by the Girona cavalry.
Andreas Christensen: 7.0
The Danish defender was a great help for Barcelona and showcased his defensive reliability. He was the most accurate passer of the game and while he was one of the first to be sacrificed for more attacking options, he was arguably the better defender on the night.
Jules Kounde: 6.0
Another rather pale performance from Jules Kounde sees Barcelona struggle against Girona. His defensive contributions were lackluster and despite his best attempts, Barcelona felt vulnerable even as he hoped to help the Catalan giants in any way possible.
Ilkay Gundogan: 8.0
The German was one of the few bright spots of the game for Barcelona. He created multiple chances for Barcelona, sorted out defensive and offensive transitions, and even managed to add a goal for himself on the scoresheet. His recent form seems promising.
Frenkie De Jong: 7.0
Frenkie De Jong was quite solid for much of the game, and helped Barcelona retain control at times during the game. However, even the Dutchman had his moments of complacency, such as during Girona’s fourth goal, where he could have done better.
Pedri: 7.0
The young Spaniard, as he so often does, had his sparks of brilliance. However, much like his peers, he could not create something game-changing for Barcelona in a game where his talents would have been more than welcome to be seen.
Joao Felix: 6.0
Unlike the game against Atletico Madrid, Joao Felix was not the protagonist against Girona. Despite some clever flicks and link-up play, his overall contribution was nothing otherworldly. A rather disappointing performance given the ability he put on display against his former club not too long ago.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.5
Quite the polarizing figure within Catalonia, Robert Lewandowski has left many divided. While he did score the opener for Barcelona through a headed goal, his performance afterwards was below par.
In particular, a chance to equalize when the score was at 3-2 was squandered by the striker and it completely sums up his recent form.
Raphinha: 7.0
The Brazilian winger had points where he was undeniably frustrating to watch. Getting dispossessed way too easily and unable to make something out of the chances presented to him, he had far from an ideal game.
However, he did create some decent chances and kept thwarting the Girona goal. Also provided the assist for the first goal by Barcelona.
Substitutes:
Alejandro Balde: 6.0
Some displays of his blistering pace were put on display by the young Spanish fullback. However, beyond that he could not influence the game all too much.
Ferran Torres: 6.5
Undeniably, an improvement in attack was seen when Ferran Torres was introduced. The Spaniard was far more clear about what he wanted to do and even managed to provide the assist for Gundogan’s goal.
Lamine Yamal: 6.5
The young 16-year-old was brought on as an impact sub for Barcelona. It seems fair to say, he did his job beautifully. Created a fair few chances that his teammates definitely should have done something better with.
Fermin Lopez: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the game to warrant a rating.
