A bizarre game ends in a defeat for FC Barcelona as they succumb to their Catalan opponents. With a 4-2 defeat at Estadi Montilivi, mirroring the exact score from the defeat at the Montjuic, Barça lost another crucial game. As it stands, Barcelona drop down to third place behind Michel’s Girona.
Despite having good control and the lead on two separate occasions, Barcelona blundered it all away thanks to mistakes from the likes of Sergi Roberto and their defenders. A promising start ended in a frustrating defeat for La Blaugrana.
Here is how the FC Barcelona players fared against Girona.
Player Ratings:
Marc-Andre Ter Stegen: 6.5
Despite conceding a few goals he could have done nothing about, the German goalkeeper was quite mediocre when defending the other goals. Ter Stegen really has to step up moving forward.
Joao Cancelo: 7.0
Expected to redeem himself for his recent disastrous displays, Joao Cancelo managed to do just that. However, it was not just his offensive contributions that bailed him out this time, but the Portuguese fullback was an ever-present asset for Barcelona on the defense and did well against many of Girona’s most potent forwards.
Pau Cubarsi: 5.5
Had a mediocre outing against an in-form Girona attack. Moreover, the overall performance from Pau Cubarsi was far from his ideal level, and he should have done better to mark Dobvik for Girona’s first goal as well.
Ronald Araujo: 6.0
Just like the rest of the defenders in the team, Ronald Araujo was overwhelmed by Girona’s potent attack. The Uruguayan defender needed to be at his best, but he was completely thrown off by Michel’s team and the way they conducted themselves.
Jules Kounde: 5.5
For much of the game, Jules Kounde played like a liability. The Frenchman was slow with his thinking process, bad with the way he executed his ideas, and completely all over the field with anything he tried.
Andreas Christensen: 7.5
While he was on the field, Barcelona were in good control of the game. His defensive stability, physical dominance, and even his world-class finish ended up giving Barça more hope than they perhaps deserved. Since his substitution, the Catalan giants managed to crumble sooner rather than later.
Sergi Roberto: 4.0
A stupid decision from Sergi Roberto gave Girona more than just an equalizer. Beyond the goal, it gave the opponents the momentum they needed to compete a comeback against Barcelona. Forgetful performance for the Barcelona captain.
Ilkay Gundogan: 5.0
A poor performance from Ilkay Gundogan led to Barcelona being quite wasteful in attack. Wasted passes, and wasteful shots were a common sight to see whenever the German was in possession of the ball and he was definitely below par on the day.
Fermin Lopez: 6.5
One of the only Barcelona players who seemed to be playing with heart. Despite his efforts and intentions to recover the ball and relaunch Barça’s attacks, the Spaniard’s additional input was wasted by his teammates more often than not.
Robert Lewandowski: 6.0
Apart from his penalty, Robert Lewandowski was not given too much service to work with. Moreover, despite some decent holdup play with his teammates, the Polish striker was more or less invisible in a crucial game.
Lamine Yamal: 8.5
Apart from a few names on the field, Lamine Yamal was the only bright spot for Barcelona. The 16-year-old constantly created and produced magic for his teammates, being directly responsible for both goals scored by Barcelona. Ended up on the losing team despite his best efforts, however.
Substitutes:
Pedri: 6.0
Tried to make an impact with some accurate passes and creative distribution but could not do much to put a dent on Girona.
Raphinha: 5.5
Was more or less insignificant in terms of the grand scheme of things, and was not too active in the gameplay as well once he came on.
Oriol Romeu: N/A
Not enough time or influence to warrant a rating.
Ferran Torres: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the field to warrant a rating.
Joao Felix: N/A
Not enough time or influence on the field to warrant a rating.
