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Barcelona ran out 0-2 winners against Girona, in a keenly contested Catalan derby. The goals for the visitors came from Nelson Semedo and Lionel Messi as Barcelona restored their five-point advantage at the perch of the table.
Girona started the better of the two sides and looked accomplished on the ball in the early stages. However, they were stung by the first bit of quality Barcelona produced in the 9th minute.
After a clever switch of play, the ball fell kindly for Semedo in the box. The Portuguese made no mistake with a perfect swiveled left-footed shot into the bottom corner.
Barcelona though, couldn’t get into the ascendancy as Girona kept them honest throughout the first period.
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However, in the 51st minute, the game took a turn for the worse for the home side as Bernardo Espinosa was given his marching orders.
After his dismissal, Barcelona looked much more assured and put the game to bed courtesy their talisman, Lionel Messi.
The visitors then controlled possession and ensured they didn’t let their lead slip. With Atletico Madrid winning yesterday, the onus was on Barcelona to respond, and they did so with aplomb.
Thus, here is a look at three factors that contributed immensely towards their victory.
#3 Numerical advantage
A Catalan derby is always a feisty encounter, and this was no different. The game had a good tempo throughout and the hosts look primed to surprise their illustrious neighbours with some sharp play.
In the first half, Girona mounted quick counter attacks and didn’t let the away side establish control in the middle of the park.
The home side even had several chances with one of their goal-bound efforts cleared off the line by Pique. Yet, after the harsh sending off of Bernardo Espinosa, the game meandered on an entirely different path.
With an extra man on the pitch, Barcelona dominated the ball and rarely accorded Girona any time or space to make the difference.
Moreover, the centre back’s departure allowed the away side to get in behind the defence more often.
For about fifty minutes, Barcelona knew that they were in a contest. Yet, the contentious red card six minutes after the restart tilted the game firmly in the visitors’ favour.
Though Barcelona would be content with how they took their chances, Girona would surely be left ruing what could’ve been.
#2 Ter Stegen’s brilliance
Barcelona arrived at the Estadi Montilivi with their eyes firmly set on an eighth consecutive league victory. However, everything didn’t go to plan initially, and the defending champions were accorded a scare in the first period.
Yet whenever Girona threatened, they came face to face with Barcelona’s 'German wall', Ter Stegen.
In the first half, Cristhian Stuani was sent through on goal after some sloppy play by the visitors. Ter Stegen wasn’t to be fazed, and he produced a wonderful right-footed save.
Even after the break, Stuani had a couple of chances to get the better of Ter Stegen, but the Uruguayan was thwarted expertly by the latter.
To cap off his sublime display, the keeper popped up with a superlative pass to set in motion the attack for Barcelona’s second goal.
At times, Barcelona were under the cosh at the Montilivi Stadium, and had Ter Stegen not come up trumps in those situations, the Catalan derby would’ve assumed a different outlook altogether.
Goalkeeping is a pretty thankless job, yet on Sunday the German proved exactly why every top team needs a world-class stopper.
#1 Barcelona’s attacking movements
On Sunday, Barcelona were presented with the opportunity to go five points clear of Atletico Madrid. Though Barcelona didn’t set the world alight with their display, they just did enough to keep their lead at the pinnacle of the table intact.
By no means did Barcelona produce a vintage performance, yet the away side were quite swift with their attacking movements.
On several occasions, they created numerical advantages on the flanks, with one of them directly leading to Semedo’s goal.
Moreover, Barcelona used the tactic of making late runs from deep to perfection. The said strategy helped the visitors free Coutinho at least twice, while there were also instances of Suarez and Alba being sent clear.
Even though Barcelona don’t keep the ball for as long as some of their decorated predecessors, there is no denying that their movement off the ball is as splendid as ever.
The act of Messi dropping deep creates space all across the pitch, and with the Argentine blessed with unparalleled vision, Barcelona take advantage of the gaps more often than not.
On occasions, Barcelona struggled to get out of the defence, yet whenever push came to shove, they ensured their dazzling attacking play came to the fore.
When Barcelona pass and move with such efficiency, there aren’t many teams across Europe who can stop them. Thus Valverde would hope his charges can conjure similar showings when the business end of the season comes.
